Essay Example on Consumer Protection: Safeguarding Public from Unfair Practices

Introduction

Over the years, consumers have sought safeguards since general laws and market forces have been unable to provide this protection. Therefore, legislation is passed to protect buyers of goods and services from unfair practices in the business environment. Consumer protection practices are often established by law which seeks to prohibit businesses from participating in fraud and other unfair market practices which might mislead the consumers. They also safeguard the general public, which might be influenced by the good or services, or the production process irrespective of them not being direct consumers of the good or service.

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China's Consumer Protection Law was initially promulgated in 1993 and was significantly amended in 2013. For instance, Article 2 of the law states that "When this Law protects consumer purchases or uses goods or receives services for the needs of daily consumption, their rights and interests" (Lehman and Xu 1994). China's consumer protection regime entails different laws and regulations (Xu 2011). There is also the Consumer's Rights and Interests Protection Law, the Product Quality Law and the Food Safety Law who functions is regulation of various facets concerning consumer protection. The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) is the general overseer of consumer protection and develops rules and regulations that promote increment of consumer interests (Zheng and Liao 2020). China's Consumer Law is the foundation of the whole regime. It has an extensive coverage and regulates the business environment which entails manufacturers, retailers and services businesses. It also covers the financial products and services and prevents businesses from implementation of unfair and unreasonable trading terms. The businesses are mandated to consider consumers' safety. The law has now been expanded to cover banks, restaurants, shopping malls, ports, airports and public transportation among others. In consideration of defective products, the country's consumer law provides guidelines which must be followed by businesses such as halting sales, recalling products, and publishing alerts. They also prevent innocuous treatment and orders the destruction of products and stoppage of the production of goods and services.

Online Trading Laws in China

After the amendment of the consumer protection law in 2013, there was an expansion of contexts of consumer protection (Liao 2014). This expansion offered safeguards irrespective of whether the business is online or not by offer guidelines. First, the directive requires legitimacy and necessity of collecting and utilising consumers' personal information and should adhere to laws and regulations in additions to the agreements entered by the parties. Second, it is required that the data subject is notified and consents to the purpose, methods and scope of the information collection and utilisation (Cui and Tan 2016). Third, the collected information should be confidential and secure, and the necessary remedies should be taken in case of a data breach. Fourth, businesses are prohibited from spamming customers with electronic information without theory consent.

The amendment offers a cooling down period for online consumers. In this period, they can return good purchased within seven days, and entitled to a full refund of the buying price. The only exception is when the purchase involves perishable products (Liao 2014). There is also a rule that requires online consumers to be provided with information concerning the suppliers. This information pertains to the identity, contact details and address, quality of products and charges, among others.

International Consumer Protection

Most countries had developed common law legal structures by 1960, and then developed and enacted substantial consumer protection laws. However, these laws are only valid with the geographical limits except the conflict of law which necessitates application in other nations (Goldring 1996). Since consumers and suppliers in different parts of the world might operate in geographical locations with conflicting laws, there have been developments of the relevant body of rules and principles. These include public international law and private international law. The definition of what a state can accomplish outside its geographical boundaries is explained under both the public and private international law. Public international law revolves around how entities with legal status related. The content of the rules practised emanates from the relationship between states and international agreements. These laws only impact on people indirectly through the application of municipal law systems. However, there is a minimal implication on individuals and business organisations (Goldring 1996). The private international law establishes whether the different jurisdictions are appropriate to entertain disputes, to administer the judicial determination of the disputes and the body of rules to be utilised. Different international treaties protect consumers and include economic partnership agreements and WTO, among others (Soll et al. 2011).

International Consumer Protection Laws

The globalisation of business, enhancement of global telecommunications, outsourcing and the advancement of the internet has resulted in the creation for business opportunities. Over the years, there have been developments of laws that impact global organisations and consumers (Twigg-Flesner and Micklitz 2010). For instance, legislation in 1992 transformed the European Community into the European Union (Corradi 2015). The legislation sought to ensure that the action of global organisations and especially those in the EU adhere to rules and regulations to safeguard the welfare of the consumers. It ensures that information provided to consumers by organisations is adequate for them to make informed choices. It also sought to considerate activities to promote the function of consumer organisations. There has also been legislation by the United Nations that seek to protect the rights of consumers. It encourages the formulation of market conditions that ensure consumers have greater choices at reduced prices (United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection 2003). It also requires organisations to practice ethical conduct in the production of goods and services. There is also the regulation that gives the right to end or change contract (Stevens 2013). The regulation by the UN provides the international minimum level of consumer safeguard (Durovic 2020).

Global Organisations in Protection of Consumers Interests

There are various global organisations that seek to safeguards the interests of consumers. For instance, the is the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the APEC Electronic Commerce Steering Group, ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Consumer Protection, Consumer International, and the Global Privacy Enforcement Network.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) works to enhance inclusivity and sustainability in the international trade (United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection 2016). It offers a platform for promoting partnerships for trade negotiations, trade policy and consumer protection (Medd 2017). In the context of international trade, it ensures that partner nations' benefit from favourable competition and that consumers realise improved welfare.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development seeks to enhance the economic and social wellbeing of people globally. It provides a platform in which the government can collaborate and find solutions to common issues. Through its Committee on Consumer Policy, OECD can deal with issues pertinent to consumers.

The ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Consumer Protection is an organisation that enhances consumer protection in Southeast Asia. The objective of the organisation is to ensure consumers with appropriate information and redress and stops fraudulent traders and unfair business practices (Consumer resources 2019). It was also ensured that producers only deliver safe products in the market place. The fundamental objective of consumer protection is to ensure they do not receive substandard products and services.

There is also Consumer International which collaborates with others internationally for the empowerment and championing of consumer rights. The objective is to ensure the treatment of consumers is safe, fair and honest. It champions for safe and sustainable of consumers in the international market environment (Consumer resources 2019). It ensures that consumers are not exploited in a market dominated by international corporations. It also seeks to develop a powerful international movement to safeguard and empower consumers globally.

Significance of the UK Legislations related to Online Trading

The engagement of online trading can be considered e-commerce in which buying and selling of products and services are conducted through the internet (Lianos et al. 2019). Online trading is a significant business and has been increasing in preference due to its speed and minimised cost of expenses (Bernauer and Meins 2000). It is also global, which means many issues arise and necessitate regulations by national governments in addition to international organisations. It is therefore essential to examine the significance of the UK legislations in online trading (Electronic Commerce 2001). The first legislation to facilitate online trading in the United Kingdom was the Electronic Communication Act 2000. It was critical in developing confidence in electronic commerce and the technology that establish the concept of online trading (Sayers 2001). The UK has the Electronic Commerce regulations which were enacted in August 2002. It sought to ensure there is a free and adequate movement of information. It focuses on the development of services providers, codes of conduct, court actions, electronic agreements, and commercial communications, among others (The Consumer Rights Act 2019).

The regulation is famously referred to as the Electronic Commerce Regulation 2002 governs the UK's online trading by adopting the EU's Electronic Commerce Directive 2000 in the United Kingdom law (The Electronic Commerce 2013). The implementation of the directive sought to clarify and systemise rules of online trading throughout Europe. The objective was boosting consumer confidence. The regulation covers all commercial websites, but not restricted to buying and selling products and services online (UK trade policy 2018). It refers to information society service, which entails information provision at a distance through electronic media for analysis and storage of information. The Directive and Regulations fail to define where an entity can sue or be sued but explains the law that can be used when there are disputes. It applies to various issues such as taxation, gaming, data safeguards, and client representation, among others.

The regulation applies the principles of the nation of origin. It means that a UK business can disregard rules of other Member States provided it adheres to the provisions of the Regulations. The organisations operating online companies are regulated according to their place of establishment and not the location of the equipment (.The Electronic Commerce Directive 2013). It means that a UK business cannot escape the provisions of the Regulations if it locates its servers elsewhere (.The UK's E-Commerce Regulations 2019). The regulation also explains t...