In recent years, many consumers have been victims of hidden costs and subscription traps from online retailers. Lawmakers responded with the law to better protect consumers against hidden costs in e-commerce, which entered into force in August 2012. This article summarizes the results of an evaluation of the law, with regard to four evaluation parameters: the extent to which the goals were achieved, implementation costs for companies, unintended side effects and acceptability. The evaluation showed that the law reaches its objective. However, many companies see a challenge in the fact that the law contains a number of vague legal terms that lead to legal uncertainty. The authors conclude that this legal uncertainty should not be countered by clarifying the law, but through co-regulation mechanisms. Moreover, it is important to strengthen law enforcement and consumer information.
The publication can be downloaded here.
