Development of laws to support online purchases

Abstract

This research has two objectives: (1) To study the problems of purchasing products online. (2) To study the development of laws to support online purchasing. How to conduct research It is Qualitative Research and Documentary Research.

The results of the research found that (1) Issues Related to Online Shopping: The statistics from the Technology Crime Suppression Division, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, and the courts show a continuous increase in complaints, grievances, and lawsuits related to online shopping. This increase is seen both in the number of affected individuals and the value of damages, with the majority of these cases involving products priced at no more than 2,000 Baht. The laws related to the identification of sellers are outdated and do not align with the current social context. Moreover, online shoppers are often unaware or have limited knowledge of how to access information to verify the sellers. This includes the Commercial Registration Act, B.E. 2499 (1956) and the Ministry of Commerce’s Announcement on the Requirement for Business Operators to Register Their Business (No. 11), B.E. 2553 (2010), dated November 10, 2010, Clause 5. As a result, these laws are not strictly enforced, and the penalties are minimal. (2) Development of Laws Supporting Online Shopping: The principle of good faith should be incorporated into the development of laws that require online sellers to properly register their businesses according to the law. Additionally, the aforementioned primary and secondary laws should be amended to ensure they are consistent with one another. Specifically, the Commercial Registration Act, B.E. 2499 (1956), Section 6(1) should be revised to cover online products, and Section 19 should include increased penalties to reflect the current situation. Furthermore, the Ministry of Commerce and relevant government agencies overseeing cyberspace should enforce these laws more effectively to better protect consumers who shop online.