Consumer Protection and Online Auction Platforms: Towards a Safer Legal Framework (Markets and the Law)

Online auctions have undergone many transformations and continue to attract millions of customers worldwide. However these popular platforms remain understudied by legal scholars and misunderstood by legislators. This book explores the legal classification of online auction sites across a range of countries in Europe. Including empirical studies conducted on 28 online auction websites in the UK, the research focusses on the protection of consumers’ economic rights and highlights the shortcomings that the law struggles to control. With examinations into important developments, including the Consumer Rights Directive and the latest case law from the CJEU on the liability of intermediaries, Riefa anticipates changes in the law, and points out further changes that are needed to create a safe legal environment for consumers, whilst preserving the varied business model adopted by online auction sites. The study provides insights into how technical measures as well as a tighter legislative framework or enforcement pattern could provide consumers with better protection, in turn reinforcing trust, and ultimately benefiting the online auction platforms themselves.

Christine Riefa is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Brunel University. Her research interests are in the areas of Internet Law and Consumer Law. She has published widely on these and related topics. She is a board member of the International Association of Consumer Law, a Fulbright alumni and was awarded a scholarship of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law for the year 2015.