Shopify have agreed to adopt new practices that will make shopping safer for EU consumers, bringing it in line with EU rules.
Following discussions with the Commission and the CPC Shopify will be making some changes that will make it harder for bad actors to use Shopify as a way to target vulnerable consumers. Shopify has now committed to create a fast and effective ‘notice and action’ procedure for national consumer authorities and to change its templates to push traders to be more transparent towards EU consumers.
Almost 75% of internet users in the EU are shopping online. This is a huge market for scammers and rogue traders to exploit, and they will continue to do so unless we act. We welcome Shopify’s commitment to ensure that traders operating on its platform are aware of their responsibilities under EU law, and are taken down if they break the rules.
– Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice
Shopify’s commitments:
To address the issue of web shops providing insufficient information about their companies, as well as missing mandatory information on consumer rights, Shopify have committed to the following:
- Designing its templates for web shops contact pages and generators for Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policies and Refund Policies to include fields for company information and contact details;
- Providing clear guidance to traders on the applicable EU consumer law;
- Providing company details about any EU trader when requested by any national consumer authority.
To address the issues outlined, Shopify will be taking down the concerned web shops, as well as providing the relevant company details. Such breaches could include, for instance, fake scarcity claims, pressure selling, counterfeit goods, or undelivered products. National consumer authorities have also agreed to reinforce their cooperation with the Canadian Competition Bureau against Shopify traders that are not based in the EU/EEA.
