eCommerce

Recent Articles

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  15/05/2025

  United Kingdom

  Digital identity in the UK: A new legislative framework under the DUA Bill

  IntroductionOn 23 October 2024, the UK government introduced the Data (Use and Access) Bill (the “DUA Bill”) to Parliament, outlining proposed reforms to the country’s data usage and access laws.  The DUA Bill is intended by the UK government to enhance the UK’s digital strategy and unlock the use of data, harnessing its capabilities to boost public services and contribute to the UK economy.In this Law-Now update, we examine the provisions of the DUA Bill that will create a legislative framework for digital verification services. Once it is formally adopted, the DUA Bill...

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  01/05/2025

  United Kingdom

  Online Safety Act: Ofcom publishes children's online safety codes and risk assessment guidance

  On 24 April 2025, Ofcom published the Protection of Children Codes (the “Codes”) and its Children’s Risk Assessment Guidance (the “Guidance”) under the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA).What’s new?All in-scope user-to-user (U2U) and search services were required to carry out a children’s access assessment by 16 April 2025 to establish if their service is likely to be accessed by children. Those services that are likely to be accessed by children must complete and document a children’s risk assessment by 24 July 2025. Assuming the Codes pass through the...

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  28/04/2025

  United Kingdom

  Level Up Compliance: Video games industry in the spotlight (again) for consumer law compliance

  IntroductionThe gaming industry has experienced exponential growth in the past few years. It is estimated that, in 2025, the UK games market will generate revenues of £13.28 billion[1] whilst the EU games market will reach €63.70 billion.[2] However, such growth coupled with the popularity of certain games with children is bringing heightened regulatory scrutiny for the industry.In-game currencies in particular are under the spotlight. In September 2024, the European Consumer Organisation, BEUC (“BEUC”), submitted an alert to the European Consumer Protection...

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  10/04/2025

  United Kingdom

  No hidden charges: Clamping down on drip pricing

  Parts of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (“DMCC Act”) came into force on 6 April 2025, including provisions to protect consumers from unfair trading. These (mostly) replace and update the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.Whilst many of the same or similar rules will apply to commercial practices as under the previous regulations, there are some important changes introduced by the DMCC Act, including in relation to drip pricing.What is drip pricing?Drip pricing is a practice that involves adding unavoidable hidden fees to the advertised...

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  21/03/2025

  United Kingdom

  Online Safety Act: Illegal content duties are now in force

  The illegal content duties under the Online Safety Act 2023 (“OSA”) are now in force. With effect from 17 March 2025, online platforms must now, amongst other things, implement appropriate measures to remove illegal content quickly when they become aware of it and reduce the risk of ‘priority’ criminal content from appearing on their platforms.Ofcom has said: “In the coming weeks and months, we will be assessing platforms’ compliance with their new illegal harms obligations under the [OSA], and launching targeted enforcement action where we uncover concerns.”Ofcom...

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  19/03/2025

  United Kingdom

  Tangled web: UK regulators crack down on harmful Online Choice Architecture

  Harmful online choice architecture (‘OCA’), sometimes inappropriately referred to as “dark patterns”, is a hot consumer protection topic that is increasingly under regulatory scrutiny. In this update, we summarise the latest developments in this area in the UK, and we explain what may change in the future.What is harmful OCA?OCA refers to how the design of the online environment (such as websites and apps) can affect a consumer’s decision-making and actions. OCA can be harmful (and illegal) where the online environment deceives, manipulates or misleads consumers in...

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