A Study On The Issues Arising Out Of The Protection Of Consumer Rights In B2C Network Transactions

Network transactions, as a new way of trading, promotes economic developmenton one hand, On the other hand, they also present a huge challenge for the protection ofconsumer rights. In the virtual environment, the weak position of consumers is quiteobvious. How to effectively protect the interests of consumers during onlinetransactions is a pressing legal issue.20years ago, the passing and enforcement of theConsumer Protection Law hold up the umbrella of the law for consumers. However, asthe time goes by, people’s spending habits and consumption patterns has changed a lot.Some of the provisions in Consumer Protection Law began to fall behind the times.Currently, most consumer protection rules in our country is defined in theabove-mentioned law. Other protection rules are scattered in Civil Law, Contract Law,Law of the PRC Against Competition by Inappropriate Means and other laws andregulations. However, the characteristics of network transactions has not been paidsufficient attention to and specific regulations on issues related to the protection ofconsumer’s rights and interests in network transactions have not been formulated,making the scope of protection narrow and the enforcement weak.Internet trade has similarities with the traditional trade and there are alsosignificant differences. This paper defines the network consumers in the first place andthen analyzes rights and interests of network consumers. By referring to the currentsituation of commerce legislation in foreign countries and the situation of protection onnetwork consumers in our country, the author concludes that we should strengthen theprotection of consumers of online transactions in the existing legal system, and build anew legal system to protect the interests of consumers. To further discuss this issue, thepaper is divided into following four parts.In the first part, rights and interests of consumers will be described, paving the way for subsequent discussion. Through the description of the concept, type andcharacteristics of network transactions and the comparison between consumers innetwork transaction and those in traditional transactions, the paper clarifies the duerights and interests of consumers.In the second part, the paper analyzes the existing consumer protection system andconcludes that there are deficiencies in two aspects of the existing system, namely theconsumer’s right to know and the right to fair trade. Therefore, it is necessary foroperators to formulate regulations on information disclosure and adhesion contract.In the third part, as a supplement to our country’s legal system, the paper takes theview that several new trading systems should be introduced to enhance the legitimaterights and interests of consumers, namely the right of rescission, domicile litigationjurisdiction and the system in which operators must bear in-transit risks. The threesystems mentioned is an introduction or modification of foreign systems.In the fourth part, the protection of consumer during network transactions shouldnot be limited to the legislative and judicial protection. The characteristics of thenetwork itself should be employed to protect the legitimate rights and interests ofconsumers, such as the establishment of online oversight bodies, complaint processingcenters, online dispute resolution mechanisms and networks credit evaluationmechanisms.