A Bill amending the Consumer Protection Act passed the second reading in the Riigikogu

NordenBladet —

At today’s sitting, the Riigikogu concluded the second reading of the Bill that will increase consumers’ trust and confidence when concluding transactions online and update the rules on commercial practices.

The purpose of the Bill on Amendments to the Consumer Protection Act (424 SE), initiated by the Government, is to increase consumers’ trust and confidence when concluding transactions online, as well as to update the regulation of unfair commercial practices in view of new technologies and digital opportunities in offering both goods and services.

The Bill will also enhance the sanctions for violation of the legal provisions established to protect consumer rights in order to ensure equal competition opportunities in the market. The new penalty rates and the increasing of the current penalty rates will concern infringements relating to the provision of mandatory information to the consumer when offering goods or services and the use of unfair commercial practices, including the requirements set out for informing about discounts as well as other requirements laid down in the Law of Obligations Act to protect consumer rights.

For example, it will be prohibited to resell tickets to events that are acquired with the help of software solutions enabling automated purchases, ignoring the conditions for purchasing the tickets. Such activity restricts consumers’ access to cultural and sports events, because tickets are resold at a much higher price than the original price. It will also be prohibited to state or create an impression that the reviews published about products or services have been submitted by consumers who have purchased or used them where the trader has not taken reasonable steps to check that. The Bill will transpose into Estonian law the relevant EU directive as regards the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules.

Tarmo Kruusimäe (Isamaa) took the floor during the debate.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

The video recording of the sitting will be available on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.
(Please note that the recording will be uploaded with a delay.)

Source: Parliament of Estonia