New Guidelines for e-commerce: awaiting delivery

04 August 2015

E-commerce is growing rapidly and is fast becoming an increasingly important area for consumers around the world. To help ensure that consumers have the protections they need Consumers International (CI) is contributing to the revision of the OECD Guidelines for Consumer Protection in E-commerce.

A recent survey of CI Members revealed deep concern about the failure of consumer protection to keep up with the rapid pace of change in the digital economy; 80% of respondents felt that legislation, regulation and standards relating to redress are ineffective at keeping up with developments. 

First approved in 1999 the OECD Guidelines for Consumer Protection in the context of Electronic Commerce cover familiar consumer protection issues such as business practices, contract terms, disclosure and dispute resolution.

However in the years since 1999, the development of technology, the increase in the number and type of e-commerce platforms and the ability of e-commerce to operate across borders has raised new consumer protection issues and in some cases a lack of clarity around who is in charge.

The revision of the Guidelines is currently in its third draft.  CI has welcomed many of the additions that have been proposed or retained in the draft, including:

  • Adoption of the principle that consumers should receive the same level of protection online as they do in more traditional forms of commerce - (retained);
  • That consumers should have limited liability in the case of a security breach (for instance if hackers raid a consumers account) - (retained);
  • The inclusion of mobile commerce - (proposed);
  • Clear reference to online dispute resolution, in addition to the current reference to alternative dispute resolution - (proposed).

However CI is also keen to see progress in a number of areas:

  • With the collection and use of data a major issue for consumers, it is important that provisions on privacy and security reflect the full force of existing OECD policies in this area;
  • Protection for children needs to be reaffirmed and there should be recognition that children cannot generally be party to legally binding agreements;
  • There should be agreement that if a consumer breaks the terms of a contract then any sanctions should be proportionate. This can be an issue in relation to some cases of copyright infringement and commitments consumers are unknowingly making through lengthy and detailed license agreements that very few people actually read.

We are expecting a draft version of the Guidelines to be released in mid-September when we will be seeking comments and input from Members.