WTO: India seeks views on consumer protection in e-commerce sector

Also calls for greater cooperation among enforcement agencies of member countries

India has sought the views of member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the role the trade body could play in enhancing consumer protection in the e-commerce sector and how countries can increase cooperation among enforcement agencies on this issue.

India also said it wanted to understand the experiences of other countries regarding consumer protection in the e-commerce space, according to a WTO document.

“Consumers particularly in the developing and the least developed countries face imbalances in economic terms, educational levels and bargaining powers viz the sellers who are often better informed and have a stronger position relative to the consumers while conducting commercial transactions. Thus, consumer protection addresses disparities found in the consumer-supplier relationship, which include bargaining power, knowledge and resources,” India said.

The WTO’s work programme on e-commerce defines it as the production, distribution, marketing, sale or delivery of goods and services by electronic means.

India noted that while e-commerce had brought consumers many benefits in the form of a wider basket of goods and services at competitive prices, ease of transaction from home, and more secure payment options, it had also created several new challenges for consumers, such as misleading advertising, online payment security, unfair terms, data protection, among others.

“The higher complexity of the online environment and its related risks present new and higher challenges to consumers, which need to be jointly addressed by countries owing to the rapid growth of cross border e-commerce,” India said.

According to econsumer.gov – a public portal to report international scams – there were 36,770 reports of international fraud in 2021, in which 84 per cent of the respondents reported losses amounting to $227.4 million.

The document also spelt out the challenges and recurrent issues related to consumer protection in e-commerce, such as the problems at the pre-purchase, purchase, as well as post-purchase stages.

It pointed out that there was a wide gap in the level and standards of consumer protection across the world. For instance, according to UNCTAD Global Cyberlaw Tracker data, while the majority of countries have cybercrime and privacy laws, a few nations, especially developing and transitional economies, particularly Asia and Africa, lack such laws.

At the WTO’s 12th ministerial conference in June, members decided to reinvigorate the work programme on e-commerce. Since protection of consumers was at the core of the subject, focussed discussions on this theme can pave the way forward, India pointed out.

In 1998, the General Council of the WTO established the work programme on e-commerce to comprehensively examine all trade-related issues relating to this, taking into account the economic, financial, and developmental needs of developing countries. Over the years, ministerial declarations have called for continuing the work under the 1998 work programme.

Govt-Speak

• E-commerce has created several new challenges for consumers, such as misleading advertising, online payment security, unfair terms, data protection, among others
• Sellers are often better informed and have a stronger position relative to consumers while conducting commercial transactions