A Study On Legal Problems Of Online Group Purchase

With the development of Internet technology and the changes of people's consumption concept, online group purchase, a new e-commerce mode, has been growing quickly in China in the last two years. Consumers with common intentions towards the target commodities or services form a group on a certain scale through the Internet, so as to increase buyers'bargaining power and realize transactions with sellers by concluding and implementing contracts. Healthy development of online group purchase is beneficial to consumers, Internet service providers and operators as well. However, owing to a short-time growth and lack of effective supervision and regulation, complaints and disputes about online group purchase multiply, followed by relevant legal problems.The participation of Internet service providers makes online group purchase differ from ordinary group purchase and ordinary online purchase, as the related subject and legal relationship are more complex than common mercenary relationship. Because of the characteristic of online group purchase, the legal definition, legal status of different subjects in specific legal relationship, legal responsibility distribution and the improvement of jurisdiction and verification of evidence in online group purchase contract disputes have become very urgent legal problems.This thesis is composed of four parts. First, the paper figures out the legal nature of online group purchase based on an analysis of its definition, subjects, mode, characteristics and comparison with ordinary group buying. Second, the author applies principle of law to the study on the legal relationship between Internet service providers and operators, Internet service providers and consumers, consumers and operators. The author analyzes the present operating modes of different group purchase websites and points out the complex legal relationship between Internet service providers and operators, which is closely related to the operating mode of group purchase websites and at the same time affects the relationship between Internet service providers and consumers, consumers and operators. Third, the paper discusses the distribution of liability for breach of contract according to the three parties'legal status in specific legal relationships. Finally, the thesis makes an analysis of jurisdiction in online group purchase contract disputes and proposes some suggestions on the improvement of jurisdiction and verification of digital evidences for online group purchase contract disputes in our country.