Technological evolution has significantly altered consumer relationships, expanding access to products and services and promoting greater convenience for consumers. However, this transformation does not occur without challenges, especially concerning the protection of rights in an environment of constant innovation. E-commerce, applications, and artificial intelligence have not only redefined the interaction between consumers and suppliers but also require the adaptation of norms, monitoring 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 become one of the main forms of commerce, offering convenience and a wide range of options. However, consumers face specific challenges in this environment.
Suppliers must ensure that information about products and services is clear, complete, and accessible, in accordance with the Consumer Defense Code (CDC), something that does not always happen on websites and apps that offer products and services.
To enhance online consumer relationships, we understand that it is imperative to develop specific standards for the description of products on digital platforms, with requirements for image quality and technical details. It is also important to have active monitoring by consumer protection agencies, using automated analysis tools to monitor websites and identify irregularities.
Regarding the right of withdrawal, although there is legal provision, consumers often face practical difficulties, such as unexpected return costs or supplier resistance. In order to mitigate such difficulties, some proposals would be beneficial, among them:
- Specific regulation for the right of withdrawal in digital purchases, including the obligation that return costs be informed in advance.
- Creation of compliance seals for platforms that implement clear and fair return policies.
- Encouragement of 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 an increase in cases of fraud and data leaks. Consumer protection in this context requires the rigorous application of the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) and digital security mechanisms, requiring companies to invest in more robust systems and in partnerships between public entities and companies for the development of educational campaigns on security in digital transactions.
Applications: Convenience and New Legal Challenges
Service applications (such as transportation, delivery, and accommodation) have expanded the offer and accessibility of services, but have also created more complex relationships between consumers, platforms, and suppliers.
Often, platforms claim to act only as intermediaries in an attempt to absolve themselves of responsibility, but consumers often do not have clarity on who should be held accountable in case of failures.
In order to avoid such allegations, it is important for current regulations to reinforce joint liability between platforms and suppliers, especially in sectors like transportation and delivery.
The use of dynamic pricing in applications, such as transportation and accommodation, can lead to abusive practices if not properly regulated, hence should have more strict supervision.
Regarding internal conflict resolution systems offered by platforms, they often lack transparency and impartiality, becoming ineffective. To enhance these mechanisms, it would be necessary to improve transparency, impartiality, and ensure access to the Judiciary.
Having expanded on these issues in this article, we will discuss the topic of AI and education and digital literacy in the 2nd part of this article.
2nd part of the article
In the 1st part of this article, we discussed the expansion of online commerce through e-commerce and digital apps, suggesting some measures to enhance consumer protections.
In this 2nd part of the article, we will discuss a novelty that has the potential to cause a true revolution in various aspects of social and consumer relations, AI. How it is already impacting consumers’ daily lives and what measures we should take to mitigate the damages.
Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities and Risks in Consumption
One thing is certain: artificial intelligence is transforming the consumer experience, allowing for personalization, 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 seen in cases that spread worldwide.
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 preventing discrimination and abusive practices. The creation of a specialized regulatory body in AI for consumption, or expanding the competence of the ANPD, would be very beneficial to establish ethical and technical standards for AI use.
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 using AI clearly inform the consumer when their decisions are automated, allowing for easier and more practical human review requests.
In situations of harm caused by AI, assigning responsibility is still a challenge that goes beyond the rules of civil law, and even consumer law. This is a reality not foreseen by lawmakers and deserves specific analysis and regulation.
It is necessary to establish specific rules on civil liability in cases of harm caused by AI, ensuring that the provider is held accountable regardless of fault.
Already in cases where consumers are affected by large-scale damages caused by AI system failures, we can assess the creation of collective compensation funds to indemnify those who are harmed.
The changes that have occurred in recent years lead us to rethink consumption relations with the pattern established up to now, 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 must be implemented. Among them, the promotion of financial and consumption education. Promoting awareness of rights and risks in digital consumption is also essential.
Therefore, the development of national digital education programs, including courses and educational materials on safety, privacy, and consumer rights, would be important.
On the other hand, the public authorities must continuously monitor the impact of technologies and propose updates to the rules through consumer protection agencies, focusing exclusively on e-commerce, applications, and AI.
The use of technology to monitor market practices can strengthen consumer protection, avoid and prevent abusive practices, identifying patterns of large-scale rights violations.
Technological advancement can and should be an ally in building fairer, more transparent, and accessible consumer relations. However, consumer protection requires concrete actions from lawmakers, the judiciary, consumer protection 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 turn Brazil into a global reference in consumer protection in the digital environment.
