18
Feb
The European Commission published the news under the slogan “New Consumer Benefits”, which is about consumer rights news. Member States have two years to adjust.
The most important changes are:
- The EU agrees that personal data may be used as a fee for the content or service provided, such as downloading some PDF or similar content.
- Web marketers must inform consumers of price personalization by tracking consumer habits.
- If the consumer withdraws from the purchase agreement (within 14 days), the merchant is prohibited from using any non-personally-identifying information provided or created by the consumer when using the digital content, or services provided by the merchant (images, videos or audio).
- Traders must transparently indicate how they rank their products when searching. The search results page should clearly indicate paid advertising.
- If you provide the ability to leave product reviews, you should clearly indicate the processes and procedures that will ensure the transparency of your reviews. Reviews should only be available to product buyers or service users. Traders are also prohibited from submitting false consumer reviews, as well as manipulating reviews and recommendations (e.g., deleting negative reviews).
- When advertising discounts or promotions on a particular product, merchants must indicate the price of the product before lowering it. The reduced price must be the lowest price for that product during the 30-day period prior to the reduction (unless a shorter period of time is set by the laws of the Member States). This does not apply to services or products with a short shelf life.
- The Web Store must indicate whether the person selling the product or service is a legal or natural person. If that person is not a legal person (retailer), it must be pointed out at the point of sale that the consumer’s rights do not apply to the contract. This information should be clearly visible and easily accessible, not “hidden” only in the purchase terms.
You can download the new rules at the following link: