Protections for online consumers are increasing, especially regarding the transparency of discounts, as well as the veracity and provenance of reviews. In late February, the Council of Ministers approved the legislative decree implementing EU Directive 2019/2161, the so-called “Omnibus Directive,” on new regulatory provisions to strengthen consumer protection in the case of unfair terms, unfair business practices, unfair competition or untruthful commercial communications.
“The implementation of this European directive ensures greater protection for consumers and homogeneity of sanctions within the EU,” said Adolfo Urso, minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, as published on the ministry’s portal.
Transparency of information to consumers is the basis of the directive in which it was stipulated that announcements of price reductions of a product should also indicate the lowest price charged by the seller in the previous 30 days. The new provisions also include space for online reviews. In this case, “if a trader provides access to consumer reviews of products, information on whether and how the trader ensures that the posted reviews are from consumers who have actually purchased or used the product is considered relevant.”
One of the main new features then concerns the introduction of a new typology that qualifies as a deceptive practice in the case of promoting a good, in one member state, as identical to a good marketed in other member states, although significantly different in composition or characteristics.
“The urgency to pass the measure was linked to a much-needed adjustment of consumer protection rules and a strong need for regulation of the sector,” commented the president of theItalian Electronic Commerce Association (AICEL), Andrea Spedale. “The e-commerce market ,” he added. has grown exponentially in recent years. In this context, the regulatory instrument promotes fair competition among industry players, and this benefits consumers first and foremost.”
La Omnibus directive applies to all platforms that operate online and offer products or services to end consumers. Regulates the regulation of ads on price reductions and regulates reviews posted on e-commerce sites with the goal of greater transparency and fairness, with the aim of countering the tendency to post reviews that are false, manipulated or selected to give prominence only to those that are positive or still generated by sponsorship actions.
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