Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that online marketplaces take greater responsibility for the safety of consumers using their platforms, including proactive measures to protect consumers from scams, fake reviews and unsafe products.

There is already robust legislation in place that protects consumers when purchasing goods and services online. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancelling and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 set out the rights consumers enjoy while shopping online and in store.

The Department consulted in July of this year on advancing online consumer rights in its “Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy” consultation. A copy of the consultation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-competition-and-consumer-policy. The consultation closed on 1 October and the department will publish a response in due course.

Existing laws also require that all consumer products, including those sold online, are safe before they can be placed on the UK market. The Office for Product Safety and Standards is currently reviewing the UK’s product safety framework, including the impact of changes brought by eCommerce, to ensure that it remains robust and is future proofed. The Government published its response to a recent Call for Evidence on 11 November at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-product-safety-review-call-for-evidence. We intend to publish a consultation outlining proposals for reform in due course.