AliExpress, the international online marketplace owned by Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, today signed four new commitments in support of online consumer rights as part of the European Union's Consumer Protection Pledge.
AliExpress has signed the European Union's Consumer Protection Pledge. This voluntary commitment aims to guarantee online shoppers a safe and transparent environment. The document was adopted by 11 marketplaces (Etsy, Rakuten France, Wish, CDiscount, eBay, Joom, etc.) at the Digital Consumer Event 2023, held at the European Parliament in Brussels. The event brought together representatives of the European Parliament, consumer and business associations and academics to debate the digital challenges currently facing consumers.
"By signing this charter, we underline our determination to protect our customers when they use AliExpress and reiterate our willingness to work with the European Commission, market surveillance authorities and consumer associations to enhance product safety as well as the safety of online shoppers," said Eric Pelletier, Alibaba Group Vice President, Global Public Affairs.
AliExpress was one of the four founding signatories of the initial Product Safety Pledge in 2018, led by the European Commission, and subsequently signed the enhanced and updated Product Safety Pledge+ in March 2023.
What does this charter contain?
The Consumer Protection Charter consists of two parts: the first is the Product Safety Pledge+, adopted last March, and the second is the newly adopted Digital Consumer Rights Pledge. With this initiative, which will take effect in July 2024, AliExpress commits to taking on new responsibilities to strengthen online consumer safety, going beyond the current provisions of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the future General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR).
The new "Commitments for Digital Consumer Rights" address some of the key aspects of consumer rights, including:
1) The introduction of measures to make it easier for European consumers to exercise certain rights, in particular by providing them with simple, transparent and easy-to-access online functionality to exercise their right of withdrawal and their right to enter into communication with human interaction.
2) The adoption of measures to improve the transparency and reliability of consumer reviews, by introducing clear policies for sellers, including prohibiting the publication of false reviews, modifying reviews or encouraging the publication of positive reviews;
3) Measures to promote transparent influencer marketing, ensuring that commercial agreements are disclosed clearly, unambiguously and in real time;
4) The application of measures to inform and train sellers on European consumer protection legislation through educational activities aimed at sellers operating on online marketplaces.