Shopify approves consumer protection changes in Europe • TechCrunch | So Good News

Shopify has agreed to make changes related to consumer protection and combating counterfeiting after it intervened in the European Union following a series of complaints, the Commission said today.

The changes were agreed to include a commitment to create a “quick and effective” ‘information and action’ system. that government procurement officials report the problems they have seen; and an agreement to change its templates to encourage merchants to be more transparent to consumers.

According to the EU, the complaints – which it said came at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic – mainly related to a shopping center that hosts a B2B e-commerce platform that was found to have engaged in illegal activities, such as providing false information and false claims of absence. ; providing fraudulent products; or do not provide their contact information.

It said Shopify had agreed to take down shops when concerns were raised by EU consumer protection authorities – and provided “company information” to regulators.

Regarding its templates, the EU said Shopify has committed to include company information sections and contact page templates for online stores and generators for Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and Refund Policy.

It has also agreed to provide clear guidance to traders on EU consumer protection laws, it added.

The background to this is that the EU launched negotiations with Shopify in July 2021 in conjunction with the EU’s National Consumer Protection (CPC) authorities to pressure Shopify to create change to eliminate illegal behavior of traders on its platform.

In his statement, Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders welcomed Shopify’s pledge:

About 75% of internet users in the EU are shopping online. This is a huge market for fraudsters and fraudsters to exploit, and they will continue to do so unless we do something about it. We welcome Shopify’s commitment to ensure that merchants operating on its platform are aware of their obligations under EU law, and will be disqualified if they break the law.

The EU added that the country’s consumer authorities have also agreed to strengthen their cooperation with the Canadian Competition Bureau against Shopify merchants who are not based in the EU/EEA – and indicated that they will try to warn Shopify’s domestic regulators about potential consumer protection issues. affects users elsewhere.

Bloc said Shopify’s implementation of its commitments will be monitored by the CPC, adding that national consumer protection authorities may also decide to take action at the national level to ensure compliance with EU regulations.

A similar approach to the recent EU-CPC negotiations related to TikTok – it was also initiated in response to several complaints – led the video sharing platform to make a commitment to increase the broadcasting of advertisements.

While Amazon has also recently bowed to pressure from EU consumer protection regulators – agreeing to abandon black-label methods in the region after some CPC measures.