The new year brings important changes in the law for many online retailers. In its e-magazine "Onlinehändler News", Händlerbund Mangement AG (Händlerbund) provides a clear summary of the fundamental changes.
By now, most companies know that they have to make an imprint and a privacy policy available on their website - otherwise, there is a risk of high warnings and serious legal consequences. In order to be able to conclude the topic quickly, the texts are taken over in a hurry from googled online generators. In the process, the text for the data protection declaration is often copied directly under the imprint section, which is illegal according to a decision by the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg and can have serious consequences. One thing is certain: every website needs a privacy policy that is complete in terms of content and can be called up separately from the imprint! We have summarized what companies must pay attention to when setting up an imprint and privacy policy on their website and what will change in 2018 with the General Data Protection Regulation:
There are hardly any physical borders that can still restrict expanding online trade. However, legal differences persist between increasingly interconnected nations and companies that can be a hindrance to the development of global e-commerce: For example, on November 22, 2017, the General Courts of the European Court of Justice rejected a challenge to the EU-US Privacy Shield regulating transatlantic data sharing. This ruling was made at the European level and is relevant for companies from all over Europe involved in digital commerce, because the issue of data protection cannot be ignored when managing customer data.
The EU-US Privacy Shield is the successor to the Safe Harbor agreement, which formed the legal basis for personal data transfers between the EU and the USA until 2015. As explained in our detailed overview on the topic of international data protection, strict data protection principles apply within Europe that must also be observed when transferring data to third countries - even if they are not bound by the EU's data protection requirements. This becomes a problem when a third country such as the USA falls short of European data regulations and is considered "unsafe". Since 2016, the EU-US Privacy Shield has protected the personal data of European citizens that is securely transferred to U.S. companies as a result - which could be the case when using U.S. software, for example.
Customers may no longer be treated differently or even disadvantaged in cross-border online trade within the EU. This was decided by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission in November 2017 as part of an EU compromise to end unjustified geo-blocking. "(...) Under the new rules, Europeans will be able to choose which website they want to shop on without being blocked or redirected. Next Christmas this will be a reality," said Andrus Ansip, Vice President for the Digital Single Market.
"Marketplaces and platforms represent important components of online commerce," said focus group chairman Dr. Oliver Bohl (KfW Bankengruppe). At the beginning of December, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on how much freedom traders have in their choice of individual sales channel and what legal principles apply.
With the new German Packaging Act (VerpackG) coming into force on January 1, 2019, it is once again clear that digital commerce involves much more than simply setting up and operating an online store. Legal changes have a direct impact on day-to-day digital business, which is why we have summarized the innovations of the VerpackG that are relevant for every store operator of physical goods.
The "Act to Improve the Civil Enforcement of Consumer Protection Provisions of Data Protection Law" came into force on February 24, 2016. This is intended to protect consumers on the Internet from dubious providers. For website operators, the new law means above all that consumer protection associations and competition associations can now issue warnings for data protection violations.
Does the product price include VAT or not? In online stores, this must always be apparent to the buyer. But is it enough, for example, to refer to the VAT in the terms and conditions?
