Budapest, 17 September 2025 – The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has launched a competition supervision proceeding against Duolingo Inc., a US-based company providing online language learning services. The GVH suspects that the company’s commercial practices may be unfair in several respects – in particular, that it may mislead consumers regarding the effectiveness of its language learning method and make unsubstantiated market leadership claims. Moreover, the undertaking is suspected of exerting psychological pressure on consumers through unsolicited and frequent direct marketing messages to encourage use of its services and switching to the paid version, while failing to provide adequate information on its terms of service, especially the limitations of free access.
Duolingo Inc. is a US-registered company providing online language learning services both via its website and mobile application. Duolingo’s services enjoy significant popularity globally and in Hungary, with approximately 380,000 daily users nationwide. The company’s mascot and logo feature an owl named Duo.
The Hungarian Competition Authority has detected that the company:
- does not make its terms of use and related information regarding its web and app platforms easily accessible or properly available in Hungarian to local consumers;
- allegedly makes an unsubstantiated market-leading claim with the slogan “Duolingo – The best way to learn a language in the world”;
- uses potentially misleading statements regarding the expected results of using its service, such as “After one month of Duolingo, 9 out of 10 learners speak the language confidently”;
- provides unclear, ambiguous, or outdated information concerning the limitations of its free service (for example, the number of lessons available per day);
- and sends non-consensual direct marketing messages to encourage more frequent and regular use of its service and uptake of the paid version.
According to the GVH’s preliminary assessment, these practices may mislead consumers and prompt them to make commercial decisions they would not otherwise make.
The initiation of the competition supervision proceeding does not imply that the company has committed the suspected infringement. The proceeding aims to clarify the facts and, where applicable, prove the alleged infringement. The statutory time frame for the procedure is three months, which may be extended twice, each time by up to two months, if justified. The GVH also notes that, under the Competition Act, the period between the authority’s request for information and the company's response is not included in the procedural time limit.
The official registration number of the case is VJ/34/2025.
GVH Communications
Further information:
Bálint Horváth, Head of Communications +36 20 238 6939
Katalin Gondolovics, Press Officer +36 30 603 1170