TACD Applauds EU Crackdown on Websites Selling Consumer Electronic Goods

Further Work Needed to Assess Online Marketplace Issues

The results of the EU-wide investigation coordinated by the European Commission into misleading advertising and unfair practices on websites selling consumer electronic goods, released on September 9, show that many European consumers are not getting the accurate, complete information they need to make informed purchases online, according to the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD).  ”It’s hard for consumers to have faith in online commerce, and cross border transactions in particular, if the vendors fail to fulfill even their most basic duties as regards the provision of compulsory information”, said Falk Lueke, European Co-Chair of the TACD Information Society Policy Committee and policy officer at the German Federation of Consumer Organisations. Consumers who participate in online commerce should be afforded at least the same level of consumer protection that exists in other traditional form of commerce. Deceptive and misleading practices highlighted by the study undermine consumer confidence and potential benefits consumers can gain from online shopping, as well as harm lawful traders. 

Ten years ago, in September 1999, the TACD issued a policy recommendation outlining the “Core Consumer Protection Principles in Electronic Commerce,” which include information that investigators looked for in the Web sweep such as the contact information for the businesses and the full terms of the transactions including delivery costs. The TACD also said that online traders should not make any misrepresentations or omissions that are likely to be unfair or deceptive. “Not including or providing misleading information about consumers’ right to cancel is not only a serious violation of European law, but it makes consumers more hesitant to shop online,” said Susan Grant, Director of Consumer Protection at Consumer Federation in the U.S. and co-chair of the TACD Information Society Policy Committee. “With expensive purchases such as electronic equipment, it’s especially important for consumers to feel confident that they can return the merchandise for a refund if they change their minds.”
 
But while Web sweeps such as this are helpful, they are somewhat limited in their ability to assess the consumer experience in the online marketplace. “An online shopping investigation that would entail actually purchasing goods and services would be even more useful,” said Mr. Lueke. “That would enable investigators to test other important aspects of transactions such as whether the goods or services are delivered on time – or at all, whether they are misrepresented in any way, and whether the trader honors consumers’ cancelation rights.”

We would also recommend the Commission to conduct a study on online shopping that would examine issues associated with a growing trend of consumer buying, selling and sharing a variety of digital products to see how the existing regulatory frameworks protect consumer welfare. 
 
About TACD
TACD is a forum of US and EU consumer organisations which develops and agrees on joint consumer policy recommendations to the US government and European Union to promote the consumer interest in EU and US policy making.

TACD policy positions and other information can be found at www.tacd.org. The resolution on “Core Consumer Protection Principles in Electronic Commerce” is at
http://tacd.org/index2.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=135&Itemid=40