Online Shopping In India: Legal And Cyber Security Issues

E-commerce in India has finally got the attention of Indian entrepreneurs and they are exploring various avenues in the e-commerce segment. At this stage almost all of them are interesting in establishing their e-commerce platforms. Very few of such e-commerce players in India are interested in complying with techno legal requirements of e-commerce in India.

Further, e-commerce in India is still largely based upon small sales and purchases and cash on demand is the preferred mode of payment in India. The concept of cash on demand may hamper e-commerce in India. Further online payment systems of India are maturing at this stage.

For a full fledged e-commerce infrastructure and system of India to operate we need a strong and secure online payments mechanism. Although an integrated banking system is in pipeline yet the present internet banking system, online payments mechanism, etc are not up to the mark. Further, the present banking, financial and regulatory environment of India need to be streamlined.

Cyber crimes and financial frauds have further shaken confidence of Indian e-commerce customers in online payment methods. ATM frauds, credit card frauds, internet banking frauds, etc are flourishing in India as Indian banks and financial intermediaries are not paying enough attention to cyber security.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has in the past asked Indian banks to ensure robust cyber security but Indian banks have still not implemented the same. RBI has now issued a strict warning to Indian banks that if they do not ensure cyber security now, RBI would take strict action against them.

Cyber law due diligence in India is another area that e-commerce and online shopping platforms must take care of. Cyber law due diligence for Indian companies is one of the most frequently litigated aspect in India. Lack of cyber law awareness and cyber due diligence awareness is the main reason that many websites and companies have found themselves in the net of Indian laws.

Online shopping and e-commerce in India must be encouraged but at the same time legal and cyber security issues must also be taken seriously. Online payment players and e-commerce stakeholders must keep these aspects in mind while doing business in India.

Electronic Commerce Dispute Resolution In India

Electronic commerce laws in India are in their infancy stage. Presently we have no dedicated electronic commerce laws in India and legal requirements for undertaking e-commerce in India are still maturing.

Similarly, adoption of online disputes resolution (ODR) in India is also at early stage. Corporate disputes and online disputes resolution in India and e-commerce disputes resolution in India are the upcoming trends that corporate world of India is exploring. Particularly, many e-commerce players in India have shown their interest in using ODR for resolving their customers’ disputes in an online environment.

Electronic commerce brings both comforts and discomforts to its users. The comforts include on the spot sales and purchase, competitive costs, convenience, saving of time, etc. The discomforts include frauds and cyber crimes committed against e-commerce users. At times there are disagreements and dissatisfactions as well among buyers and purchasers that cannot be resolved using traditional litigation methods.

This is the reason why we need alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism to resolve e-commerce disputes in India. E-commerce regulations and laws in India are limited in nature and this does not allow use of ADR mechanisms and technology driven solutions. For instance, while European Union and other nations are increasingly using online dispute resolution (ODR) for resolving many aspects of e-commerce disputes yet online dispute resolution (ODR) in India is still not known.

Similarly, establishment of e-courts in India can also facilitate early and effective e-commerce disputes resolutions in India. However, till February 2012 we are still waiting for the establishment of first e-court in India. E-courts and ODR in India are urgently required to reduce backlog of cases and for reducing increasing pressure upon traditional courts. E-courts and ODR can also help in e-commerce disputes resolutions in India.

Some of the areas where we must pay special attention include technology related dispute resolution in India, film, media and entertainment industry dispute resolution in India, cross border e-commerce dispute resolution in India, etc. E-courts and ODR can be effectively used for all the abovementioned purposes.

E-commerce players in India have many techno legal obligations to follow and cyber law due diligence in India is one such obligation. Not only legal requirements for undertaking e-commerce in India are stringent but even Internet intermediaries liability in India must be taken seriously by companies engaged in online transactions and businesses.

Realising that cyberspace can bring many commercial benefits; both individuals and companies are ensuring that they have strong online presence. More and more brand promotion and protection in India are done these days in an online environment. Companies and individuals are also ensuring domain name protection in India so that their reputation and goodwill is not misappropriated by others. Brand protection, reputation management and domain name cyber squatting disputes are at rise and the same can be resolved using e-courts and ODR in India.

However, there is a general lack of awareness regarding use of e-courts and ODR for e-commerce disputes resolution. Further, there are very few e-commerce lawyers and law firms in India that can provide expert services in this regard. E-commerce players must also be aware that other laws, including intellectual property laws, can make these e-commerce players labile for civil and criminal actions. For instance, these e-commerce players can be held liable for online infringement of copyright in India of the copyright owners. Similarly, if any person posts an offending material at the e-commerce site or otherwise deal with the e-commerce site in an illegal manner, the e-commerce site owner may find himself in trouble.

Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) strongly recommend that before opening an e-commerce website or business, the owner of the same must consult a good techno legal law firm that can advice him upon all the possible and applicable aspect of e-commerce laws in India. Further, Perry4Law and PTLB also recommend active use of e-courts and ODR in India for resolving e-commerce disputes resolutions in India and corporate disputes in India.

We also believe that more effective and useful e-commerce laws in India must be formulated that expressly deal with e-commerce aspects in India. Let us hope that these suggestions would be implemented by Indian government very soon.

Electronic Commerce Regulations And Laws In India

Electronic commerce is an area whose legal formalities cannot be taken lightly. Electronic commerce involves multiple jurisdictions and at times multiple laws of different countries are applicable to a single electronic commerce website.

Further, the landscape for electronic commerce dispute resolution in India is also fast changing. With more and more stress upon online disputes resolution (ODR) in India electronic commerce disputants now prefer ODR as a mechanism for dispute resolution. Corporate disputes resolution through ODR in India is also being explored. E-courts and ODR have also added their own valued to electronic commerce and corporate dispute resolutions in India.

Electronic commerce in India is witnessing a good growth due to progressive policies and liberal foreign direct investments (FDIs). E-commerce uses information and communication technology (ICT) to operate. Although many technological aspects are also taken care of by an e-commerce platform, yet establishment and running of an e-commerce website is the most important requirement.

Internet is boundary less and a website hosted in a particular country can be accessed from any part of the world. Further, there may be cases where a websites located in a particular country may attract legal jurisdictions of multiple countries. Thus, compliance with the laws of the principal country as well as those countries where such e-commerce websites targets audience and customers is of prime importance.

There have been instances where e-commerce websites located in India failed to observe cyber law due diligence in India and e-commerce regulations and laws in India. Criminal trials and criminal liabilities have been imposed by Indian legal system upon such websites. The bazee.com case and the criminal and civil trials against companies like Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Microsoft, etc are few examples of the same. Such cases against e-commerce websites and foreign companies would further increase and e-commerce players must appoint nodal officers in India to comply with Indian laws.

Thus, not only legal requirements for undertaking e-commerce in India are stringent but even Internet intermediaries liability in India must be taken seriously by companies engaged in online transactions and businesses. We have no dedicated e-commerce laws in India but the information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000) covers basic level e-commerce legal framework in India. The IT Act 2000 also prescribes cyber due diligence for foreign websites in India.

E-commerce due diligence in India is a much needed requirement that all e-commerce players, whether Indians or foreign, must undertake as soon as possible. Non observation of local and foreign laws can tarnish the image and brand of a company that cannot be regained again. It is better to err on the side of precaution rather than caught on the wrong side of the law.