L’assistente digitale nei contratti con i consumatori e il consumer acquis

The paper seeks to determine if the consumer acquis is able to rule business-to-consumer con- tracts when they have been concluded through a digital assistant, taking into account the ELI Guiding Principles and Model Rules on Digital Assistants for Consumer Contracts. It focuses on harmful online choice architecture (also called dark patterns or deceptive patterns) and on the public and private enforcement, being aware of the importance of the adoption of the Digital Fairness Act. In particular, the Author thinks that it is possibile to apply 1) the rules of unfair commercial practices pursuant to articles 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 of the Italian Consumer Code; 2) the annulment or the compensation for damage pursuant to articles 1439 and 1440 of the Italian Civil code; 3) the so-called long ius poenitendi (such as the long right of withdrawal for distance and off-premises contracts pro- vided for in the European Directive 2011/83 on consumer rights, 12 months after 14 days from the day on which the consumer acquires physical possession of the goods) when the digital assistant has been designed in a way that impairs the ability of a consumer to make free choices.