The consumer market of the 21st century has no limits: it transcends domestic borders and makes the globe its playing field. This is particularly prevalent in the virtual realm. It is hard to imagine a home, workplace, educational institution or even public environment where there is not some form of digital access or service. Technological advances have made our day-to-day lives easier and the access to and supply of previous unattainable goods and services a reality. Social media has become a platform and successful marketing tool where not only communication but also businesses thrive. Many consumers spend more than 50% of their lives as part of this digital marketplace in one form or another.

The reality is however that this borderless digital world of possibilities also poses unacceptable risks and exploitation of consumers and infringement of their fundamental consumer rights. In particular vulnerable consumers such as the young and the elderly. Consumer rights that are under continuous threat are the consumer’s right to equality in the consumer market, the right to privacy and the right to disclosure of information. In South Africa these consumer rights are primarily governed by the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) but due to the broad scope of e-commerce and marketing in particular the CPA will apply in conjunction with other legislation such as the National Credit Act (34/2005); Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (25/2002) and the Protection of Personal Information Act (3/2014).  

Various regulatory authorities have been tasked with the enforcement of these rights in the digital marketplace, establishing codes of conduct and importantly educating and informing consumers of their rights. In a joint media release in March of this year the National Consumer Commission (NCC) and the National Credit Regulator (NCR) have committed themselves to educating consumers on their rights and responsibilities regarding misleading advertising with a focus on “SMS” and online credit; debt counselling scams and informing consumers about the dangers of using unregistered credit providers. The NCC is also in the process of establishing an “Opt-Out Registry” in an attempt to prevent unwanted direct marketing and protecting the consumer’s right to privacy.

There is also a drive to protect consumers in the digital market in other jurisdictions. In the European Union for example an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) web-based platform has been established (I terms of the EU Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (2013/11/EU)). The ODR platform provides efficient redress for online consumer agreements and complaints by consumers may be lodged in more than 23 different official languages. There is a clear need for co-operation between countries to curb the exploitation of consumers in the digital markets but also to ensure consumer rights are protected.

In support of the World Consumer Day and other initiatives the University of Pretoria Consumer Protection Cluster is hosting the Third University of Pretoria International Consumer Law Conference (UPICLC) from 25 to 27 September 2018. The conference theme is ‘The consumer in the borderless market’. Please contact Jani van Wyk at [email protected] or visit our conference website at www.up.ac.za/law for further information.