The European Commission opened formal proceedings against Booking.com on 21 October to establish whether the platform has breached the Digital Services Act's security and transparency provisions in ways that expose customers to fraudulent listings and phishing. Investigators will examine whether Booking.com diligently assessed and mitigated phishing risks, how reservation and guest data is shared with accommodation providers and what safeguards prevent misuse for payment fraud, how its messaging service can be abused, whether systemic risks from illegal content such as impersonation fraud were properly assessed, and whether its advertising practices meet DSA transparency obligations. Non-compliance could bring a fine of up to 6% of global annual turnover and corrective orders. Executive vice-president Henna Virkkunen said Europeans should be able to book holidays without fear of being scammed; the Commission stressed that opening proceedings does not prejudge the outcome.

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