Regulatory Alerts2026-06-05
FD Column by Laura van Geest: 'Make People More Resilient, Start in the Digital World'
The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), through columnist Laura van Geest, requires that governments and corporations redesign digital services for greater accessibility, integrate mandatory human support channels, and implement the European Commission’s Digital Fairness Act (DFA) to shield citizens who overestimate their digital competencies and experience impaired decision-making during stress. Policymakers must abandon reliance on abstract statistics and centralized theoretical planning in favor of frontline execution insights and qualitative research to identify systemic vulnerabilities. Consequently, digital solutions must be intelligently engineered with preserved human contact to prevent vulnerable populations from facing increased exclusion rather than enhanced protection.