New Technologies and Their Impacts on Consumer Relations: Proposals to Guarantee Rights in E-commerce, Applications and Artificial Intelligence

Technological evolution has significantly changed consumer relations, expanding access to products and services and promoting greater consumer convenience. However, this transformation does not occur without challenges, especially with regard to the protection of rights in an environment of constant innovation. Electronic commerce, applications and artificial intelligence have not only redefined the interaction between consumers and suppliers, but also require the adaptation of standards, enforcement mechanisms and digital education. This article explores the impacts of these technologies and presents concrete proposals to ensure consumer protection.

E-commerce: Expansion and Risks in Digital Relationships

E-commerce, especially after the COVID 19 pandemic, has consolidated itself as one of the main forms of commerce, offering practicality and a wide range of options.

Suppliers must ensure that information about products and services is clear, complete and accessible, in compliance with the Consumer Protection Code (CDC), which does not always occur on websites and applications that offer products and services.

To improve online consumer relations, we understand that it is urgent to develop specific standards for product description on digital platforms, with requirements on image quality and technical detailing.In turn, it is important to have active supervision by consumer protection agencies, using automated analysis tools to monitor websites and identify irregularities.

As for the right of repentance, although there is legal provision consumers often face practical difficulties, such as unexpected return costs or resistance from suppliers.In order to mitigate such difficulties some proposals would be beneficial, including:

• Specific regulation for the right of withdrawal in digital purchases, including the obligation that return costs are informed in advance.
• Creation of compliance seals for platforms that implement clear and fair return policies.
• Encouraging the use of digital tools to automate return and refund processes, increasing transparency and reducing waiting time.

It is a fact that the growth of e-commerce has led to increased cases of fraud and data leakage. Consumer protection in this context requires the strict application of the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) and digital security mechanisms, requiring companies to invest in more robust systems and partnerships between public agencies and companies for the development of educational campaigns on security in digital transactions.

Applications: Practicality and New Legal Challenges

Service applications (such as transportation, delivery, and hosting) have expanded the offer and accessibility of services, but have also created more complex relationships between consumers, platforms, and vendors

Often, platforms claim to act only as intermediaries in an attempt to evade liability, but consumers often lack clarity about who should be held accountable in cases of failures.

To avoid such allegations, it is important that the current regulations reinforce the solidarity responsibility between platforms and suppliers, especially in sectors such as transportation and delivery.

The use of dynamic pricing in applications such as transportation and hosting can lead to abusive practices if not properly regulated, and so should have greater oversight.

As for the internal systems of conflict resolution, offered by the platforms, they often lack transparency and impartiality and become ineffective. To improve these mechanisms, it would be necessary to improve transparency, impartiality and guarantee access to the Judiciary.

Having this article extended in these questions we will address the theme of AI and education and digital literacy in the 2nd part of this article.

2 Part of article

In the 1st part of this article we discuss about the expansion of online commerce via e-commerce and digital applications, suggesting some measures to improve consumer guarantees.

In this 2nd part of the article we will discuss about a novelty that has the potential to cause a real revolution in various aspects of social and consumer relations, AI. How it is already impacting the daily lives of consumers and what measures we should take to mitigate the damage.

Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities and Risks in Consumption

Artificial intelligence is transforming the consumer experience, allowing customization, automation and greater efficiency. However, it also presents significant risks. Among the most important are those related to algorithmic discrimination, lack of privacy and responsibility for automated decisions, as we have seen in cases that spread around the world.

Thus, the use of AI can generate discrimination, even if unintentional, harming consumers based on profiles created from data. Therefore, it is important to implement mandatory audits for algorithms used in consumer services, focusing on the prevention of discrimination and abusive practices. The creation of a regulatory body specialized in AI in consumption, or the expansion of the competence of the ANPD, would be quite healthy, aiming to establish ethical and technical standards for the use of AI.

And speaking of the ANPD, the LGPD provides for the right to human review in automated decisions that impact consumers, but the practical application of this right is still limited.

Therefore, it is of great importance that all platforms that use AI clearly inform the consumer when their decisions are automated, allowing the request for human review in a simpler and more practical way.

In situations of damage caused by AI, the attribution of responsibility is still a challenge that escapes the rules of civil law, and even consumer law. This is a reality not foreseen by the legislator and deserves a specific analysis and discipline.

Specific rules on civil liability in cases of AI damage are needed to ensure that the supplier is held accountable regardless of fault.

In cases where consumers are affected by large-scale damage caused by AI system failures, we can evaluate the creation of collective compensation funds for compensation to those who are harmed.

The changes that have occurred in recent years lead us to rethink consumer relations with the standard that has been established so far, whether the current regulation meets the new challenges and what measures and public policies should be taken to bring more security and transparency to consumers.

In this sense, long-term proposals should be implemented. Among them the promotion of financial education and consumption.Promoting awareness of rights and risks in digital consumption is also essential.

Thus, it would be important to develop national digital education programs, including courses and educational materials on security, privacy and consumer rights.

On the other hand, the government must continuously monitor the impact of technologies and propose updating of standards through consumer protection agencies, with an exclusive focus on e-commerce, applications and AI.

Using technology to monitor market practices can strengthen consumer protection by preventing and curbing abusive practices, identifying patterns of large-scale rights violations.

Technological advances can and should be an ally in building fairer, more transparent and accessible consumer relations. However, consumer protection requires concrete actions by the legislator, the judiciary, defense agencies and companies themselves.The implementation of the measures proposed in this article can not only mitigate the risks associated with new technologies, but also transform Brazil into a global reference in consumer protection in the digital environment.