BT-REQ-1940 Consumer Holiday Guide 2023 v9 BH - Flipbook - Page 6
Safer online shopping: New
rules for online marketplaces
to protect their customers
Telha Arshad
Florian Richter
Senior Associate
London
Senior Associate
Hamburg
Year after year, we 昀椀nd ourselves gathering presents for our
loved ones at the very last minute. Fortunately, the selection
of exciting gifts on online marketplaces is ever-growing:
Every second consumer in Europe is planning to buy more
from online marketplaces during the holiday season, with
Italian consumers being most likely to do so (78%).
Those in a rush for last-minute presents
may not be as attentive and careful with
regard to what they buy and from whom.
Online sellers know that very well, as
do fraudsters and counterfeiters. More
generally, the sale of counterfeits or
otherwise infringing products remains a
challenge in the online environment, not
only during the holiday season.
In light of this ongoing challenge,
lawmakers in the EU and the UK have
come up early with two very special
gifts this year: The EU Digital Services
Act (DSA) and the UK Online Safety
Act (OSA). Among other goals, both
new laws aim to create a safer online
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Retail and Fashion Holiday Guide 2023
shopping experience for consumers
and, to this end, ambitiously overhaul
the rules for online marketplaces, in
particular when dealing with possibly
illegal goods.
The DSA, often dubbed as “Europe’s new
constitution of the Internet”, is already
in force since August for the largest
online platforms, including Amazon’s
EU Stores, AliExpress and Zalando.
For all other online platforms and
marketplaces operating in Europe, the
new rules will apply from 17 February
2024. While the DSA maintains the
liability principles and privileges for
online platforms from its predecessor,
