South Africa’s e-businesses are preparing for new Consumer Act

South Africa is preparing for a new consumer protection regime, since the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) is set to come into force on 1 April 2011.

The CPA, which was signed into law in April 2009, “is not just another Act,” said Gerrie Van Gaalen, Partner at Van Gaalen Attorneys. “It will ensure that suppliers deal with consumers without withholding important information.”

The CPA sets out strict rules for businesses and creates a number of consumer rights, such as the right to inspect goods and the right to information. Fixed-term agreements will have to be in ‘plain and understandable language’ and courts will get the power to redraft consumer contracts.

“The CPA will oblige e-commerce sites to abandon the practice of providing bare minimum or often just generic information about items, stock availability and delivery terms,” said Godfrey Parkin, CEO of Britefire. “And businesses will now have to take the privacy and security of customer data very seriously.”

Many e-businesses are in the process of reviewing the text of standard agreements, terms and conditions, and are rethinking the wording of their marketing. “They are also scurrying to try to get their mailing lists in order, since South Africa has never had anti-spam legislation with any teeth,” said Parkin. “There is a lot of scrambling taking place to try to be compliant before 1 April.”

This is not a surprise since “failure to comply could lead to jail time or a fine, which could be as much as R1 million, or 10% of annual turnover, whichever is greater,” explains Simone Monty, Partner at Eversheds.

Published previously in E-Commerce Law & Policy, March 2011. Copyrights apply.

Opinion: Facilitating problems online

The UK Gambling Commission (GC) presented its British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2010 (BGPS) on 15 February - the first specific data on the current state of play of the gambling market in the UK since the enactment of the Gambling Act 2005, in September 2007.

One of the most remarkable conclusions of the GC is that nearly three quarters (73%) of adults in the UK gamble. Whether offline or on the net, playing the Lotto twice a year or spending days on end at William Hill, it is a significant increase compared to 68% in 2007.

“The survey confirms that there is a significant and growing number of people who take part in gambling”, said Brian Pomeroy, the GC’s Chairman, highlighting the importance of the GC’s work and therefore supporting its existence, in response to reports published in October 2010 urging the UK Government to abolish the GC, or at least to merge it with another commission at the Department for Culture, Media and Sports.

Those who thought gambling is a man’s world, should think again. The GC found that more women than ever before have found their way to a casino, whether on- or offline. The BGPS generally shows that gambling has become more accepted and more mainstream.

The question as to whether the UK Gambling Act 2005 has contributed to this change - whether the law facilitates gambling, or in other words whether gambling facilities are too easily accessible in the UK - was raised at the press conference for the presentation of the Survey on 15 February in London.

Not surprisingly, it was ‘not the Gambling Commission’s task to answer that question’. However, the BGPS could not deny that the number of problem gamblers in the UK has gone up significantly in the last three years, from 0.6% of the adult population in 2007 to 0.9% in 2011, which means that more than 150,000 adults have become new problem gamblers since 2007. Interesting numbers if you keep the economic crisis, pay freezes and rising unemployment figures in mind.

Whilst the number of adults placing a bet might have gone up, online gambling figures are nowhere near those spectacular numbers. Even though 17% of all gamblers said they play offline as well as on the net, only 2% of the adults who gambled last year did so exclusively online. Although there are no concrete figures, the GC said many of the (new) problem gamblers fit in this category: ‘in an offline casino, someone can be stopped, his age can be verified or if he had one drink too many he can be sent away. On the net, that is impossible’.

Published previously in World Online Gambling Law Report, February 2011. Copyrights apply.

Betsson’s China move fuels market opening speculation

Swedish operator Betsson announced on 8 February it ‘has established a business relationship with a local company in China which has set up a joint venture (JV) in the sports lottery related industry together with a Chinese state owned company’, the company said in a statement, fuelling speculation that China is beginning to open its online gambling market.

Paul Davis, Managing Director of Counting House, is “not sure whether this move signals an opening of the market, but at least it signifies a willingness to put a toe in the water and test the temperature, something that appeared very unlikely for years”. Davis expects other operators to follow “almost certainly, although the supply of suitable [Chinese] partners may be found very thin indeed”.

Wei Zhang, Partner at Jun He, is more sceptical: “Even though the online sale of two types of lotteries are now permitted, we cannot reach the conclusion that online gambling will be allowed in the near future, as this is against the political and moral guidance that one should get rich through hard work”.

Currently, only welfare lotteries and sports lotteries are legal in China, which boasts the largest and fastest growing number of internet users in the world. “I believe that the authorities will fully understand our structure and will continue and support it, by issuing a sale permit to this JV in due course”, said Pontus Lindwall, CEO of Betsson.

In China, all gambling activities are controlled by the state - that is why “Betsson's choice of partner should be highly scrutinised, it almost certainly brings government involvement in the market with it”, said Nao Matsukata, Senior Policy Advisor at Alston and Bird LLP. Davis thinks this is actually an advantage: “For two decades the route to sustainable business development in China has been through joint ventures with local businesses”, he said. “[Betsson’s] choice of partner is commendable in that closeness to government is one of the best guarantees of continuity.”

Matsukata points out other issues: “Considering Beijing's strict control of the internet, there are bound to be privacy and data security issues for online gamblers of the services that Betsson may come to offer”, he said. “Consumers and service providers will both eagerly wait what model it develops to protect sensitive information.” Betsson did not disclose the name of the Chinese ‘local company’ it has established a relationship with.

Published previously in World Online Gambling Law Report, February 2011, London. Michiel Willems, copyrights apply.

FB launches credit-only payment tool

The social networking site Facebook has announced it will make Facebook Credits (FC) – the site’s online currency – the single buy-in point to convert real money into credit that can be spent on games and other applications.

Facebook confirmed on 25 January it is planning to force game developers to only accept the FC currency as a payment method on the website. All social game developers (such as the immensely popular Farmville) will have to comply by 1 July.

Although developers can still use their own ‘in-game’ currencies, it does mean that consumers will be required to process the transactions with FC. Facebook works with more than 350 applications and 150 developers.

“The new requirement is a natural progression in the growth of Facebook's brand”, said Mark Herpel, Editor of DGC Magazine. “Requiring a ‘one-size-fits-all’ currency reduces the barriers of entry and should greatly benefit developers. I do envision a ‘pay with [FC]’ option in the near future where this virtual currency can be used in third-party websites to buy physical goods.”

Published previously in E-Finance &PL&P, February 2011. Copyrights apply.

Telefónica and MasterCard bring m-payments to South America

MasterCard and Telefónica announced on 25 January they will introduce mobile payments in 12 countries in South America (SA).

The US payment service provider and the Spanish mobile phone operator said in a statement that a joint venture will ‘offer mobile financial solutions’ through Telefónica’s Movistar network, one of the biggest in SA. Services such as bill payments and retail purchases will be linked to a mobile wallet or prepaid account in, among others, Argentina and Mexico.

“A first of its kind with that scale in Latin America”, said Aiaze Mitha, CEO of Amarante Consulting. “This venture has the potential to transform the payments landscape [in SA].’’
Eduardo Ferrari, Partner at Posadas, Posadas & Vecino in Uruguay, thinks the initiative “is very significant because of the magnitude of the investment and the lead role of its participants in their respective fields as it provides a brand new service”.

The joint venture could be a big step forward in making banking services accessible to millions of unbanked people, since 70% of South Americans do not have a bank account but most of them do own a mobile phone. “It sends a very strong message to the [SA] industry”, said Aiaze Mitha. “A card association is willing to partner directly with mobile operators and align their strategic interests to conquer the unbanked market.”

“The cell phone market has reached costumers of all different ages and asocial structures”, added Ferrari. “There are currently more cell phones than inhabitants in Uruguay.”

Published previously in E-Finance &PL&P, London, 2011. Copyrights apply.

Anger over usage-based bills and small ISP caps in Canada

A ruling by the Canadian Radio Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the country’s telecoms and internet regulator, has outraged many Canadians and turned usage-based internet billing (UBB) - bills based on internet usage per month - into a national issue.

The CRTC decided on 25 January that internet service providers (ISPs) could continue charging customers for exceeding their monthly broadband allowance. However, following the negative response from the public, the independent regulator released a statement on 3 February stating that the ‘decisions were set to take effect on 1 March, but in light of the evident concerns expressed by Canadians, [the CRTC] has decided to delay the implementation by 60 days’ and ‘launch a review’. Industry Minister Tony Clement said it will “not [be] acceptable for the government” if the decision remains unchanged. Clement said earlier that UBB would ultimately lead to “more competition and lower prices”. Most bills, however, have risen sharply since September 2010, when the CRTC allowed large ISP Bell to start billing its customers for exceeding their monthly broadband allowance.

The ruling has reignited the  debate about UBB in Canada. The Vancouver Sun wrote that ‘[UBB] will artificially inflate the costs of online access’, while Michael Hinka, commentator for CBC, said UBB would be “fairer for light users. Pay for what you use.”

“Customers who don’t use much may prefer a pay-per-use model. However, that does not appear to be the view of the majority”, said Chris Bennett, Partner at Davis LLP. “The public backlash against the decision has been significant. As a result, there appears to be strong political support for reconsidering the decision.”

Another issue is the position of smaller ISPs. Although the CRTC ruled that Bell has to offer its wholesale customers - smaller ISPs who ‘rent’ space on Bell’s network - a 15% discount when exceeding their limits, it can impose a cap on these limits, limiting smaller ISPs’ use of networks. “[The ruling] will make it difficult for smaller ISPs to differentiate their services and stifle competition”, said Bennett. “That is an issue because there is already very little competition in Canada.”

“The industry in Canada is essentially an oligopoly”, explains Bernice Karn, Partner at Cassels Brock, while Martin Kratz, Partner at Bennett Jones, wonders “whether a discount is sufficient to permit wholesale operators to survive and differentiate themselves.”

Published previously in E-Commerce L&P, February 2011. Copyrights apply.

Talk like an Egyptian

The 1987 Bangles’ hit ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’ might have been adopted as an inspirational song during the recent protest in Egypt, it was not so much walking that gave the world a glimpse of what was happening in the country.

On 28 January, the Egyptian Government abruptly blocked all internet access, bringing online traffic in the country to a standstill. Hours after net activity in Egypt dropped to zero, Google realised this was a unique opportunity to try out SayNow, the voice technology company it had acquired only days earlier. SayNow’s engineers and the social networking website Twitter worked non-stop over the weekend and, as a result, a new service which managed to circumvent the internet ban was launched on 31 January. A system called ‘Speak-to-tweet’ gave Egyptians the chance to post messages online without the need for a computer or an internet connection. Via international telephone numbers in the US, Switzerland and Bahrain (+16504194196, +390662207 294 and +973161 99855), callers can leave a voice message. The spoken message is then converted into an electronic message and published as a ‘tweet’. Conversely, people are able to listen to messages by calling the same phone numbers, an effective way to obtain information about protest times and venues.

The new service might have frightened some authoritarian regimes around the world, it certainly made a huge impression on the e-commerce industry. Surely, the conversion of a voice message into an electronic post already existed, but never before was it carried out on such a large scale, with thousands calling in at the same time. Google and Twitter could not have wished for a better way to promote their new service.
Many industry specialists speculated on the net and in European and American media whether the voice service should be seen as a major step forward in the development of electronic information exchange. In the near future, will it be possible to send an email or statement from a deserted mountain or remote island, without the need for a computer or internet connection? As long as there is a (satellite) phone and one can speak, preventing the posting of online messages will almost be impossible. The system could benefit certain groups in society as well; think of the blind, the dyslexic, the illiterate and the elderly.

Naturally, legal issues will arise. To leave a voice message, for example, there is no need for an account, so everyone can say anything about anyone without knowing who said what, and this can have consequences if Twitter’s filters do not pick up certain comments. Will the introduction of a mobile phone account or the need to have your number registered be an idea for the future? This needs to be worked out, but the system has potential, since ‘Speak-to-tweet’ has made the industry realise this new technology creates commercial opportunities and makes it much harder to silence an active internet community, as long as there is a phone.

Published previously in a London based publication. Copyrights apply. Michiel Willems (c) 2010

OFT announces crackdown on product endorsement blogs

London - The UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has begun a crackdown on users of social networking website Twitter who endorse products and brands without clarifying whether they have been paid for their online remarks.

Enforcing the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs), the OFT said in a statement on 13 December: ‘Online advertising and marketing practices that do not disclose they include paid-for promotions are deceptive under [CPR] fair trading laws. This includes comments on blogs such as Twitter’.

The announcement follows a July 2010 OFT investigation into whether PR firm Handpicked Media (HM) had paid bloggers to write exclusively about the firm’s clients. “[The OFT] wanted to make an example of us”, said Krista Madden, of HM. “The public should be smart enough to realise when it is a genuine tweet. It will be hard to monitor [paid posts]. Celebrities have been given freebies, gifts and jollies for years without having to declare them.”

“Under the CPRs, [this] can be regarded as an unfair commercial practice”, said Oliver Bray, Partner at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain. “Brands need to make clear when promotions have been paid for or there is a very real risk of enforcement action by the OFT.” 

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission demands that paid posts contain the words ‘ad’ or ‘spon’. This requirement does not exist in the UK. “The key here is transparency,” said Nick Johnson, Partner at Osborne Clarke. “The US short-form disclosures are an efficient way of achieving that.”

Published previously in E-Commerce L&P magazine, London 2010. Copyrights apply.

Gambling markets in 2010 - a global view

This year started with a sigh of relief for UK-based operators, when, in January, the UK Government took away a competitive advantage for offshore businesses and proposed a licencing regime for foreign gambling operators. While the Chinese cracked down heavily on gambling a month later, the French rolled out their plans for ‘controlled liberalisation’ when ARJEL, the French authority in charge of online gambling, disclosed new licensing requirements. 

In March, a new Bill banning payment processors from accepting online gambling payments was signed into law in Norway. In the UK, with the general elections just a month away, the Horseracing Levy became an election topic in April when the Labour Party announced it would force offshore operators to contribute to the Levy and pay taxes, while the Conservative Party called the system ‘outdated’. 

While regulation at European-level seemed further away than ever, the Council of Ministers of the EU did manage to agree on a common definition of ‘illegal gambling’ in May. The European Commission (EC) finally closed a series of legal cases against Italy: on 5 May the EC stated it no longer had any objections against a new gambling law allowing Italy to open its online sports betting market to foreign operators. 

Attention shifted away from Europe in June when the Australian Government rejected the advice of one of its own commissions to regulate online gambling. Further up, the Antiguan Prime Minister was considering imposing sanctions on the United States following the long-standing dispute over Antiguan operators on the US market. The South African market came to an abrupt standstill when a court ruled on 16 August that online gambling operators, payment processors and internet service providers were in breach of the country’s National Gambling Act and they could no longer operate without the risk of prosecution. 

Hope in the US for the regulation of the market reached an all-time high in August when the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee approved HR2267, the ‘Barney Frank Bill’. Six months and an election later, however, it seems very unlikely online gambling will be legalised anytime soon. The optimism of August did encourage companies to strike deals with the US though. Sportingbet and the US Attorney's Office in New York reached a non-prosecution agreement in September. The London-based company paid the US a $33 million fine, and will not be criminally prosecuted for providing gambling services to US customers. A month later, the US announced it was going to put forward proposals to require financial institutions to report all electronic transfers in and from the US, even very small amounts of money, from 2012. This would make it much easier for law enforcers to pick up (illegal) gambling transactions. 

Back in Europe, the EC notified Romania in October it could not accept the country's draft gambling law. Only last month the new Australian Government surprised the gambling industry by appointing an expert panel while postponing the introduction of the controversial and much-talked about internet filters, possibly until 2012. This month, the new Danish law came under scrutiny of the EC, with the investigation undoubtedly to be continued in 2011.

Published previously in World Online Gambling. London, 2010. Copyrights apply.

Reid pushes for e-gambling Act in ‘lame duck’ Congress

US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat) confirmed on 7 December he is pushing for a last-minute Bill to legalise online poker in the US. “Senator Reid is working to find a way to get it done”, his Spokesman said. While the text of the Bill has not been made public, members of Reid’s team have been circulating a 57-page document since late November, proposing to amend the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act - which bans online gambling in the US. 

 To increase the chances of success, it is expected the Bill will be ‘linked’ to another piece of legislation and will be introduced before 5 January, the end of the ‘lame duck’  session - the period between the election and Congress’ new term. After that, chances of success will dwindle rapidly since a majority of newly elected Members - mostly Republicans - opposes online gambling. Under the proposals, internet poker games could only be offered by operators of existing bricks-and-mortar casinos. Most of these businesses are located in Las Vegas, Nevada, Reid’s home state. That explains why “Reid will do whatever it takes to protect and advance this proposal”, said Elizabeth Corey, Partner at Foley & Lardner LLP. “He will look for any vehicle to attach this gaming proposal to.”

The American Gaming Association (AGA) has welcomed Reid's proposals. “This is law-and-order legislation...a solid regulatory framework,” said Frank Fahrenkopf, the AGA’s Chief Executive. Supporters of Reid, mainly gambling businesses and Nevada politicans, have claimed the proposed legislation would bring in more than $3 billion in tax revenue and will create thousands of jobs.

While it is far from certain whether the new Bill will be passed before Republicans take control of Congress in January, “Reid does for online gamblers in one week what Frank could not do in four years”, wrote Larry Rutherford, Staff Editor at CasinoGamblingWeb.com, on his popular blog.

 

A number of Republicans, however, wrote in a public letter  to Reid on 1 December that “creating a federal right to gamble requires careful deliberation, not back-room deals or earmarks for special interests”.

Corey believes that “Reid has lost the element of surprise and faces continuing opposition. But Reid is a fighter and he gives as good as he gets,” she said. “We all know stranger things have happened as Congress rushes to adjournment.”   

Published previously in World Online Gambling. London, 2010. UK Copyright laws apply.

Twenty Ten

- 2010: an e-commerce year to remember -

The year kicked off with a victory for manufacturers of luxury products keen to protect their brands, when, in February, a Paris court ruled that eBay should compensate Louis Vuitton for facilitating the sale of counterfeit Louis Vuitton products. Although another case in which a UK court ruled that eBay was not liable for listing fake L’Oréal goods illustrated the battle of ‘the brand owners v counterfeiters’ is far from over, 2010 should be considered as a year in which copyright infringements and counterfeiting were taken more seriously than ever before.

Many countries, like the UK, France, Ireland and South Korea, passed new or updated laws aimed at combatting online piracy more effectively by creating a more defined framework for copyright breaches on the net. In the UK, the controversial Digital Economy Act (DEA) came into force in June and a highly symbollic copyright agreement with China - the biggest infringer - was signed. Enforcement is still considered to be one of the biggest challenges, so many welcomed, in November, the publication of the final draft of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, aimed at establishing standards on intellectual rights enforcement. The US, in the meantime, has taken its own approach and has, without a court order, started shutting down file sharing websites.

It was certainly also a year in which Google dominated the headlines. Its controversial AdWords policy, the data protection and copyright agreements with a number of countries and groups, and the announced investigation into possible abuse in the online search market in Europe all made the headlines. But it was not only bad press for Google: its advertising revenues rose to $25 billion this year.

And 2010 might go down as the year free online news saw the beginning of the end. In July, Rupert Murdoch put his collection of newspapers The Times, The Sunday Times and the Financial Times (FT) behind a paywall. Although unique readership numbers have fallen significantly - readership has fallen around 90% - it seems publishers are starting to see the lucrative side of it: in December, the FT reported The Telegraph Media Group (publisher of The Daily Telegraph) will launch a similar scheme in the New Year, with others expected to follow.
Television also made a digital jump forward. Google launched its Google TV service in November and the UK High Court ruled, in the same month, that the activities of a TV streaming website are covered by copyright law despite the fact that it is not a broadcaster itself.

In publishing, more books were sold online than in traditional bookshops and 2010 was the year of the ‘e-reader’. When the year kicked off, Kindles and Nooks sold impressively well on Amazon but the launch of the Apple iPad in April was an outright, unrivalled milestone. With three million devices sold in the first 80 days, it was undeniably the e-commerce hit of this year.

Published previously in E-Commerce Magazine, London 2010 (C) Copyrights apply

Winter
Icy temperatures, arctic winds and snow showers might disrupt many tube and train lines in Greater London - forcing thousands of commuters to find alternative transport or walk for miles through icy winds - it sure delivers some picturesque pictures and marvelous scenes. All around northern Europe temperatures have gone down and snow showers have been reported. This picture, taken by two unnamed students, is a scene in Finland. Winter has arrived early this year.

Future of the cheque in the UK

MPs: keep the cheque in the UK after 2018

A group of UK Members of Parliament (MPs), headed by Liberal Democrat MP David Ward, has launched a campaign to ‘save’ the cheque.

On 2 November, Ward introduced a Bill that would bring cheques under the consumer protection scope of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and urged banks to re-think the proposals to abandon the cheque in 2018, introduced by the UK Payments Council (PC) in December 2009.

“[Abolishing the cheque] is a stitch-up by the banking industry, who have shirked every opportunity to modernise the system, and will be the main winners from its abolition”, Ward said on his website. “It is disgusting that a group with such vested interests in getting rid of cheques should be entrusted with this decision.”  

Ward, and a number of other MPs from different parties, have claimed that eliminating the cheque will have a major impact on small businesses and it could hit the elderly as well as visually impaired people.

Ward’s Bill will be discussed in Parliament in June 2011. In December 2009, the PC and its members voted to stop clearing cheques by 31 October 2018.

Published previously in E-Finance & Payments Law & Policy Magazine, November 2010. Copyrights apply

Pilot plan to harmonise payment infrastructure in Southern Africa

The Central Banks of 15 states in southern Africa will complete a pilot project to harmonise the payment infrastructures of the four countries with the ‘Rand’ currency within two years.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) - an intergovernmental organisation which aims to improve economic integration - is built on the Single European Payments Area (SEPA) model, as Tim Masela, of the South African (SA) Reserve Bank, said on 25 October: “There is a common currency target for the region of 2018 and we want to make sure that any new infrastructure can support it. The experience in Europe is very useful”.

The pilot comprises of two phases. Firstly, the Central Banks of SA, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho will harmonise existing bank and payment systems. In the second phase, integration will be expanded to Congo and Zimbabwe.

“It’s an important move and very good for SA”, said Simon Cavill, Director of Strategy at Mi-Pay. “The first phase will be easy to implement as the countries have historically been close toSA, but it will be challenging to align countries with radically different political and economic structures.”

Not everyone thinks SEPA should be an example. “Let’s hope that SA keeps this as a business-led project and does not get tied up with politics and red tape like in the EU”, said Gary Wright, of BISS Research.

Cavill remarks: “I can see the value for SA, as the commercial powerhouse of the region, but what's in it for the smaller countries?”

Published previously in E-Finance & Payments Law & Policy, Michiel Willems 2010. Copyrights apply

UK: No harmonization of consumer protection at EU level

The UK has indicated it will oppose a strict harmonization of consumer protection legislation in Member States, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said on 19 October.

"Minimum harmonization...would enable Member States to apply their own rules. The UK would be free to regulate this matter internally in domestic law", the BIS said in the 'Negotiating Line for the Consumer Rights Directive' Report.

The Response Report - the outcome of a consultation launched in July - makes clear the UK is not in favor of a stringent Consumer Rights Directive, which is currently being negotiated and will replace four existing Directives.

“The current EU legislative patchwork on consumer protection is overly complex and has its flaws", said Rohan Massey, Partner at McDermott, Will & Emery. "But in trying to harmonize, the EU runs the risk of removing protection currently given to consumers in certain jurisdictions. This is one of the UK's key concerns, which currently has one of the more robust regimes."

Jill Johnstone, of Consumer Focus, said: "UK consumers risk losing out if maximum, not minimum harmonization is adopted".

The European Commission (EC) believes strict harmonized legislation is necessary to increase cross-border online retail - last year, less than 2% of the total European retail trade. In August, when the EC launched a consultation about the future of e-commerce in the EU, it said 'a lack of confidence was holding back the development of the e-commerce market'.

“To increase cross-border trade in e-commerce, there needs to be greater standardization of legislation", agrees Massey. "But any attempt by the EU that results in a reduction of mandatory consumer protection will be met with strong political resistance locally."

Ben Allgrove, Partner at Baker & McKenzie, thinks the UK should not go its own way: "For online businesses, national regulation is actually a barrier. You need to consider and comply with 27 Member States' consumer protection regimes, which is costly to do".

Stephen Groom, of Osborne Clarke, believes enforcement should be on top of the agenda. "Enforcement is virtually ignored. There are still enormous disparities across the EU in how laws are policed and enforced." Groom continues: "How about a halt on any new laws at UK and EU levels until enforcement of existing consumer protection laws is given proper attention?"

Published previously in E-Commerce Law & Policy Magazine, London. Michiel Willems 2010. Copyrights apply.