DIGITAL LITERACY AND EU POLICIES: HOW REGULATIONS PROMOTE INFORMED CHOICES BY CONSUMERS ON THE INTERNET

In the modern digital world, where the internet is integrated into all spheres of life, digital literacy becomes a key factor for protecting consumer rights, making informed choices, and minimizing risks from online threats.The European Union is actively developing regulatory frameworks, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Digital Services Act (DSA), and the Artificial Intelligence Act, aimed at enhancing transparency, security, and fairness in the digital space.However, data from the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) for 2024-2025 indicate a significant gap: only 55.6% of the EU population possesses basic digital competencies, with noticeable disparities across generations, regions, and social groups.Older generations and residents of countries outside the EU, such as Ukraine, demonstrate lower levels of awareness.This gap is exacerbated by crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which accelerated digital transformation but intensified problems of disinformation, cyber fraud, and privacy violations.EU regulations emphasize a human-centric approach, controlling platform algorithms and protecting against dark patterns, but empirical data point to insufficient integration of these instruments into the daily behavior of consumers, especially in a cross-border context, where skepticism about effectiveness limits their impact.The literature analysis confirms the variability of digital readiness in the EU: northern countries achieve 83% in basic competencies, while eastern and southern regions face gaps due to sociodemographic factors.Initiatives such as the "European Digital Compass 2030" and the "Digital Europe" program are aimed at overcoming inequality, strengthening Věda a perspektivy № 1(56) 2026