3rd LD Writethru-Xinhua Insight: Legislature mulls consumer rights law changes, online shopping included
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E-mail Xinhua, April 23, 2013
China's top legislature on Tuesday began reading draft amendments to the consumer rights law, marking the first time changes have been considered since it took effect 20 years ago.
"Consumption patterns, structure and concepts in China have undergone great changes over the past two decades, and new problems have emerged in the field of consumer rights protection," said Li Shishi, chairman of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.
While briefing national lawmakers during a three-day bimonthly legislative session that opened on Tuesday, Li said amending the law aims to improve the protection of consumers' rights and interests, boost consumer confidence and promote "rational consumption that should be energy-efficient and environmentally friendly."
The consumer rights law, which was enacted in 1993, has played a key role in "protecting consumers' interests, maintaining economic and social order and promoting the healthy development of the socialist market economy," he said.
Under the draft amendments, the role of consumers' associations and supervision over consumer rights protection will be further strengthened in order to prevent consumer disputes, according to the Legislative Affairs Commission chief.
ONLINE SHOPPING LEGISLATION
With China's e-commerce market expanding at full speed, the country is for the first time considering amending its consumer rights law to protect online shoppers.
The wide spread of information technology has allowed the Internet, TV and telephone-based commerce to surge, Li said.
However, consumers select commodities merely through pictures and text descriptions online, and they cannot identify the goods' authenticity and are susceptible to deceptive advertisement.
Therefore, the draft amendments stress the protection of consumers' right to knowledge, saying sellers should provide authentic and necessary details of their products or services to e-shoppers.
The draft also ensures e-shoppers' right of choice and grants them the right to unilaterally terminate contracts. "Consumers have the right to return goods within seven days and get refund," according to the proposal.
"The cooling off period of seven days" allows e-shoppers to change their minds, which is in line with international conventions, said Hu Gang, an expert from the Internet Society of China.
"Online shoppers can ask for compensation from the e-trade platform if the seller has stopped using the platform," the draft said, adding the platform can claim compensation from the seller after compensating e-shoppers.
The move is "significant" as it increases the responsibility of online platforms, which further protects online shoppers' rights, Hu said.
China's booming online commerce industry is expected to reap more than 1.1 trillion yuan (about 175 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue in 2012, statistics from the Ministry of Commerce showed.
The industry has experienced rapid growth in China, with total revenue expanding from 25.8 billion yuan in 2006 to 780 billion in 2011, which dwarfed that of many western countries.
PERSONAL INFORMATION PROTECTION
The draft provides clarification on the protection of personal information, as personal information leaks have seriously affected the lives of consumers and infringed upon their legal rights.
"Consumers are entitled to have their name, portraits and privacy protected," according to the draft, adding that business owners should obtain consumers' consent and explicitly explain the purpose, form and scope of information use before collecting and using consumers' personal data.
Consumers' information should be "strictly confidential" and business owners should adopt necessary technical measures to ensure security, according to the draft.
It also stipulates that those running businesses should not send commercial information to consumers who have refused to receive such information or whose consent had not been obtained.
Such clauses on protecting personal information are in line with the legislature's decision to strengthen the Internet information protection guideline, which has legal status and was adopted last December.
QUALITY CONTROL
Quality of commodities and services is of obvious concern for consumers' personal safety and that of their property. "Half of the complaints received by the country's commercial departments and associations are about quality problems," Li noted.
Under the draft, conditions for the return, exchange or repair of goods are clarified.
It also highlights commercial fraud. Penalties for this should involve fines equivalent to twice the value of goods or services, with a minimum fine set at 500 yuan, it said, adding that criminal liabilities will be pursued for those whose defective products damage consumers' health or result in death.
As China has been long plagued by rampant production and distribution of shoddy and inferior goods, the amendments to the law will also target such illegalities and social ills.
The draft says business owners should immediately suspend production and sale, issue a warning and initiate a recall if they find that their products are defective and could cause harm to people or property.
To further alleviate pressure on consumers, it says, "The burden of proof is on business runners" if defects are found within six months after a product is purchased.
The draft amendments also boost the responsibility of advertisers and marketers, stressing that those who release deceptive advertisements concerning food and drugs and other goods related to consumers' lives and health are subject to joint liability with producers.
Recurring food scandals including melamine-tainted infant formula, pork adulterated with clenbuterol, and cooking oil recycled from leftovers in restaurant kitchens, have dampened public confidence over food safety.
Further, the role of the government is explained in the draft, which says relevant departments should randomly inspect the quality of products and services regularly, release inspection reports, and immediately order business owners to suspend production and sale and recall defective products if the watchdog found the defects could cause harm.
The draft also says government agencies should handle consumers' complaints in a timely manner and impose heavier penalties to those acts infringing upon consumers' rights and interests.
Meanwhile, Chinese consumers have complained about the "arrogance" of some foreign brands, which suggests weaknesses in consumers' rights protection and loopholes in law enforcement.
Last month, the China Consumer's Association asked Apple Inc. to "sincerely apologize to Chinese consumers" after the U.S. firm took little action to address waves of criticism about its discriminatory after-sales services in China.
The country's consumer quality watchdog last month urged German car maker Volkswagen to recall defective cars after its research confirmed that some of the company's direct shift gearbox (DSG) transmissions have defects that may cause engine power failures.
The Chinese public have repeatedly demanded the company to initiate a recall until the national broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) exposed the defect in an annual program on consumers' rights protection on March 15, before the car maker finally initiating the recall. Endit
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