The Extent of Protection for Electronic Consumers in the Face of Risks Arising from Electronic Contracts

Abstract

The relationship between consumers and professionals has completely become out of balance as a result of the rising power of economic professionals, the dominance of capital owners, and the emergence of large companies and institutions. As a result, legislative intervention to enact laws specifically aimed at protecting consumers and restoring balance to contractual relationships between consumers and professionals has become necessary. To protect consumers from new hazards in online commerce via the internet, current laws must be modified and expanded in light of the development of the internet, improvements in communication channels, and the success of e-commerce. This research focuses on the protection of online consumersin electronic contracts to assess the extent to which necessary protection is achieved for consumers online. Therefore, the research is divided into three sections. The first section defines consumer protection and its justifications, where we explain the concept of online consumersand the justifications for protecting electronic consumers. In the second section, we address consumer protection before entering into electronic contracts, discussing the electronic consumer's right to information and its justifications, as well as the electronic consumer's right to protect their personal data. In the third section, we discuss consumer protection after entering into electronic contracts, covering both alternative measures for protecting online consumersand legal measures for protecting electronic consumers. This study follows a descriptive-inductive-analytical methodology. The researcher has reached several findings and made a set of recommendations. The most important findings include the indication that e-commerce development in Western societies and some Arab countries, especially the UAE, suggests that the future will belong to this type of commerce due to its ease and speed of transactions. Observers of the economies of these countries recognize the need to address this development. Additionally, the consumer is considered the weaker party in electronic contracts, even if they have the opportunity to negotiate, as they cannot access all the information about the goods or services in remote contracting. Therefore, it is crucial to focus on protecting consumers in specific texts related to electronic transactions. Although civil protection for online consumershas made progress, it must continue to keep up with advancements since the field of electronic transactions experiences new developments every hour. The recommendations emphasize the necessity of conducting research, seminars, workshops, and meetings to establish further protection measures and disseminate legal knowledge that benefits consumer protection.