New laws to curb fake online biz

New laws will be enacted to regulate the flourishing online shopping market that has been lately littered with fraudsters selling counterfeit products.

Samantha Karunarathne,

Director Competition Promotion , Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) said that current rules lack the regulatory teeth necessary to stop online manipulative practices.

She said from last

July, some 150 complains pertaining to online purchases such as fake products, quality issues, late delivery and poor customer service were received by the CAA.

“One famous vendor has 46 complaints against them," she said.

The fact that these online vendors are not registered (as a business), poses a very large threat, she added. This discussion transpired at the ‘ ICT Industry Open Forum Discussion’ with the key regulators on Thursday, organised by the Federation of Information Technology Industry (FITIS), apex ICT body of Sri Lanka.

Now the regulator is carrying out an extensive study to formulate laws to promote transparency and fight against unethical sales practices in the hope that companies will curb egregious practices, she told the Business times.

Mrs. Karunarathne said that with the upcoming law, all e-commerce operators will need to protect consumer rights, interests, and personal information, as well as protect intellectual property rights and cyberspace security. Basically the law would bring online shopping regulations in line with offline rules that require vendors to register their businesses and pay tax.

She said from last July, some 150 complains pertaining to online purchases such as fake products, quality issues, late delivery and poor customer service were received by the CAA. “One famous vendor has 46 complaints against them," she said.