News

💸 Interflora fined over €3.1M for… a pre-checked box

The DGCCRF (via the Rhône DDPP) has just imposed an administrative fine of €3,166,380 on Interflora.
Reason: charging for a paid option… that was activated by default.

The facts:
-When ordering on interflora.fr, the paid service “Interflora+” was offered via an automatically pre-checked box. The customer had to untick it to avoid paying for the option!
-The DGCCRF considers this to be billing an option without explicit consent, in breach of the French Consumer Code on distance selling.
- Interflora was also called out for failing to inform customers of their right to register on the do-not-call list (BLOCTEL).

In short:
👉 A pre-checked box is not a minor UX detail – it’s a misleading commercial practice when it leads to charging an option without explicit agreement.
👉 Between dark patterns, “forced” consent and lack of information about Bloctel, this sanction sends a very clear message to e-commerce sites.

📌 Key takeaways for e-commerce sites:
-Any paid option must be deactivated by default.
- Consent must be free, specific, informed and explicit.
- Mandatory information (including Bloctel where telemarketing is involved) is not optional.