The law firm Delphi's various experts in e-commerce law such as Agnes Hammarstrand, Anna Ersson, Marielle Eide-Westholm and Louise Sundström are involved in organizing webinars where they tell you what you need to think about to avoid legal mines when you sell online. If you have missed any of the opportunities, keep an eye on their calendar for new updates.
New directive on modernized consumer protection
A new directive on modernized consumer protection will be applied in all EU member states from the spring of 2022. There are several parts to this and much is regarding requirements for transparency.
- New information requirements for pricing – inform if the price has been personalized on the basis of automatic decision-making and profiling.
- New requirements for price reduction – in the event of a price reduction, the previous lowest price that has been for a period of at least 30 days before the current price reduction must be displayed.
- New requirements for search results – inform about why search results come in a certain order. The new requirements for ranking search results apply to the search functions where a consumer can search for products from different companies, for example for search functions at marketplaces and price comparison services, but also for search functions on other sites. It is important to show if a product ranks higher because the company that provides the search function has in some way been paid by the merchant behind the product, for example by adding a tag about sponsored results for the product.
- New requirements for reviews – it is important to ensure that reviews come from a real consumer and inform about the procedures for it. Do not manipulate by just showing the positives and removing the negatives. Prohibition against, for example, buying likes on social media.
New rules for the sale of goods
On January 1, 2022, it is proposed that a new law come into force that will replace the Consumer Purchase Act. This applies to B2C both online and in-store. The presumption period for defects is extended from 6 months to 1 year from delivery and certain changes are introduced for the consumer's right to cancel a purchase. The consumer also has an obligation to cooperate to determine if an error is due to hardware, software or network connections.
Digital marketing - cookie banners, pixels and other trackers – what about legal?
It is possible to participate in webinar for guidance on the use of cookies and similar technology from a legal perspective. The ePrivacy Regulation is currently being negotiated, which is expected to become "GDPR 2.0" at EU level, while more and more people use cookie banners, pixels and other trackers.
If you want to read more about the new rules or get more information about e-commerce law, Delphi has written several articles in the field.
