EU agreement: online purchases should become safer
Broken smoke detectors or unsafe surveillance cameras: Consumer advocates keep finding dangerous goods from non-EU countries. Stricter action is to be taken against this – from which consumers in particular should benefit.
Brussels – Negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU states have agreed on stricter rules to protect consumers when buying online.
Online retailers and other companies in the supply chain should bear more responsibility for the products they sell, according to a compromise agreed on Tuesday night. The aim is for dangerous products to be recalled from the market quickly. The details at a glance:
What changes?
Above all, consumers are ensured that they are better protected against potentially dangerous products and should be compensated even if the legal guarantee has expired. Another option is to have the goods repaired. For each product, there must also be a so-called responsible person who checks whether manufacturer information on EU safety standards is correct and who works with market surveillance bodies.
This ensures that it is checked whether the corresponding products meet EU standards, said the spokesman for the SPD in the European Parliament for consumer protection, René Repasi. Under certain circumstances, this person must also be liable for damage caused by defective products.
Which cases should be prevented?
Potentially dangerous products should not be sold in the EU. If it is only determined that there are risks after the items are on the market, the aim is to ensure that they are withdrawn from the market and recalled within a few days.
The consumer protection association Beuc examined a number of products around 2020 and found that, for example, all smoke detectors examined that could not detect smoke did not come from the EU. Another example of unsafe products are surveillance cameras from China, which Dutch consumer advocates say could easily be hacked, Beuc pointed out.
What do consumer advocates think of the new rules?
Basically, Beuc praises the compromise. The law meets many criteria, such as the fact that cyber security for products must now also be taken into account. In addition, it will be easier to assert your rights in the event of a recall. However, the organization would have liked digital marketplaces – including Amazon – to be held more accountable and to ensure that they were liable for dangerous products.
What does the trade say?
The German E-Commerce and Mail Order Association emphasizes that retailers and online marketplaces are already committed to security and consumer protection. Tasks of government agencies should not be transferred to the marketplaces. They should now make regular random checks to ensure that the items are safe. “However, in contrast to the manufacturer, an online marketplace does not even have products that are sold via the marketplace in stock itself in most cases.” Marketplaces would have to set their own criteria.
When do the new rules apply?
The compromise still has to be formally approved by the EU states and the European Parliament. This could be completed in the first quarter of 2023. Then the law can be published in the EU Official Journal. The rules should apply around a year and a half later.
What are the legislators hoping for from the changes?
According to estimates, the new regulations will save consumers in the EU around one billion euros in the first year and around 5.5 billion euros over the next ten years, as the EU Parliament announced. dpa
Reference-www.ingame.de