Consumer issues in the e-commerce regime: challenges and legal responses focusing upon an approach towards a policy framework

Abstract

E-commerce in today’s world has become one of the most necessary part of our life. Particularly for the urban areas, the accessibility to platforms of e-commerce is not just an opportunity but rather it is a necessity for most people. In 2014 nearly 75% being (2.1 billion) of all internet users in the world the 2.8 billion live in top 20 countries. It is not surprising to note that India is in a chief position for the growth and development of the e-commerce sector. The most outstanding sector for which ecommerce presents an opportunity is retail, since it provides for a vivid change from brick to mortar establishments and to virtual shops which could operate for a tiny proportion of the cost. Social networking plays a very vital role in driving consumers online and getting them to engage with brands. While Indians primarily use the internet for communications, largely in the form of messages specifically emails, social media is also an important driver of internet users in India. The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI) report estimates that there were 243 million internet users in the country by June 2014, which overtook the US as the world’s second largest internet base after China.1 Electronic commerce has been identified as one of the key areas for policy research among the WTO-related issues in the area of Services. Despite the much talked about dotcom crash, e-commerce continues to be an extremely important development and vehicle for trade. Economies and enterprises across the globe are integrating their systems with this digital reality. For international trade, the use and benefits of Information Technology (IT) are obvious and growing.2 Since 1998, e-commerce has also been on the multilateral trade agenda of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Though formal negotiations in this area have not yet begun separately, all four councils at WTO have been researching and discussing the impact of e-commerce on the existing multilateral trade agreements. In the context of the on-going GATS negotiations, it is all the more important that India, along with other developing countries, should be prepared with a negotiating position. This project is an attempt to contribute towards that end. The project also points out that though India has made giant strides in software and business process outsourcing (BPO) services exports, the use of e-commerce for the rest of its export basket remains an untapped potential. At the end of this project the author wants to conclude her project by making some useful suggestions and recommendations relating to the future strategy and policy agenda for India in issues related to e-commerce and the international trading regime. Trading on the internet is through the transmission of electronic data from the suppliers or producers of goods and services to the buyers, and vice versa. In view of the openness and accessibility of the internet the protection of such data has been a constant source of concern for internet users and consistently has remained a threat to e-commerce.3 A number of jurisdictions have therefore come up with protective legislation.4 There is no legislation on the protection of data presently in India, and the situation portends a great danger for consumers in e-commerce. The Indian Cabinet on August 1, 2015 approved a new Consumer Protection Bill 2015 that seeks to replace a 29-year-old law and proposes to set up a regulatory authority which will have powers to recall products and initiate a class suit against defaulting companies, including e-tailers. The proposed new law assumes importance as there is growing concern over safety of consumer products and services especially after the Maggi controversy. The new bill, approved by the Cabinet is now likely to be introduced in the ongoing session of Parliament, provides for a comprehensive framework for protection of consumer interest and will replace the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. Explaining the rationale behind bringing a new bill, it can be located that misleading advertisements, multilevel marketing, telemarketing and direct selling pose new challenges to consumer protection. Hence, there was a need to modernise the act to address the situation effectively. The Bill also provides for stringent penalty, including life imprisonment in certain cases, sources added. Thus, the following project report gives the situation of the e-consumers in the present scenario, Indian policy framework, aspects of technological advancements and the role of the Indian Legislatures.