HOW EACH COUNTRY IS CREATING A FAIRER DIGITAL MARKETPLACE

The rising of technology and e-commerce has change the way people shop not just in our country but also globally. According to a survey by comScore, an analytics firm and UPS, it was reported that consumers are now purchasing more goods over the internet than going to the physical stores. Furthermore, from 5000 consumers involved in the survey, shoppers made 47% of their purchases over the internet back in 2014 while in 2015, the percentage has increased up to 51%. This however, does not come without its fair share of challenges for consumers. Such issues occur when consumers make their purchases through social media sites run by smaller companies or individuals who do not provide adequate security features or secure payment methods. 

So, it is a must that digital marketplaces should offer a fair and secure shopping environment where customers shall obtain a compensation without causing too much burden and expenses should things go wrong during the transaction made. The recent World Consumer Rights Day 2018 aimed to provide a fair and secure internet access for all in combating fraud and scams as well as better consumer protection online. 135 members from more than 90 countries are now participating in this move and FOMCA is one of them. Many countries are coming up with numerous actions to maximize the use of technology at the same time protecting the consumers in a new market that go beyond physical borders. 

The United States of America plays a part in providing a fair consumer regime while taking care of the trader and industrialist with the help of media. In the United Kingdom, consumers are given guidance and protection, thanks to the magazine, WHICH. Furthermore, the Department of Trade and Industry aids in safeguarding and protecting consumers by providing quality goods at a reasonable price. In addition, customers residing in EU countries are protected by EU regulations.  Meanwhile in Asia, Singapore and Hong Kong are a step ahead where consumers are educated from the airport onwards. 

Based on these various implementations, we see that it is time for us global citizen to learn the significance of observing and enforcing consumer rights. It is time for us to minimize or prevent such things be it frauds or scams so that we can create a fairer marketplace for each and every one of us. Since we have plenty social media sites available just at the end of our fingertips, we can spend some of our time for a good cause. As an individual, you are welcomed to call for fairer digital marketplaces by using the hashtag #BetterDigitalWorld. It’s now or never, ladies and gentlemen! 

LOOK OUT! DANGER AHEAD!

Internet is widely used as a tool to conduct research, browsing through social media, new and online shopping. Malaysia is reportedly having the highest penetration of online shoppers, encompassing of 19 million users supporting a business worth RM 25bil and the is predicted to double by 2020. Malaysians are lucky enough to experience the luxury of shopping online, price advantages, exclusive deals and availability of reviews. These days, booking flight ticket or movie tickets, paying school fees and making telegraphic transfers online and within minutes in the comfort of our homes. Also, it is unlikely for a customer who perform online transaction to get caught in a scam or encounter any problems if they follow the instructions correctly or do not get conned by phishing sites. However, the risk is higher when consumers make a purchase through social media when they have to deal with small companies or individuals who do not provide sufficient security features or secure payment methods. 

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) reported that it has received approximately 50 complaints of online scams in 2017. Furthermore, the organization believes that the actual number could be much greater because some complainants would just feel discouraged to carry on the issue further. In addition, the complainants would be carrying another burden where the expenses incurred were a lot compared to the claims they were after. Moreover, according to Kuala Lumpur Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief ACP Mohd Luthfi, the backgrounds of the victims are the same where they are individuals who were urgently seeking for financial aid. Plus, these victims were tricked with the appealing terms found on advertisements set up on social media sites such as low interest rate, no guarantor, immediate approval and hassle-free applications, especially for applicants who were blacklisted by banks. 

The irresponsible scammers would run away with the loan processing fee. What is even worse, because of the amount to be rather small, victims felt that it was not necessary to lodge a police report. This in turn would make the scammers to even further their act as no action is taken. Next, as scammers are getting even more cunning as the technology evolves, there are so many new tactics they could use on us. Recently, automated teller machines (ATM) in Malaysia have been hacked by overseas hackers all because of the obsolete operating systems. 

So, what can we do about this?

As a consumer who does online shopping most of the time, we need to be aware of what is criminal issues which are currently happening in the cyber world. On top of that, it is advisable for users to not make any online transactions when they are out public places. Although quick response (QR) codes come in handy most of the time, we need to be extra careful because irresponsible parties could be embedding their own codes instead of the real ones. Meanwhile, the authorities could educate the society at large by updating the statistics on cybercrimes and ways to prevent them. Those who committed this crime should be tracked down and given a hefty sum of penalties so that this crime activities could be put to a halt. Lastly, banks should always update their operating systems regularly to avoid from being hacked.

BUILDING A FAIR DIGITAL MARKETPLACE WITH REPUTATION SYSTEMS AND OTHER MECHANISMS

The design of a particular marketplace should provide safety and reliability that can convince the customers secure transactions. Of course, digital marketplace comes with its drawbacks where both sellers and buyers could face risks in anonymous transactions. For instance, there could be issues where sellers are not being paid after an order has been secured, damaging of assets as well as negotiating with demanding or unpleasant customers. As for buyers, they could be exposed to the risks of not getting the expected products or services and the disappearing of seller when payment has been made. The usual solutions to combat this problem involve the combination of firms building reputable brands and having the meddling of government instructing the sellers to comply with the regulations. 

By utilizing the advancement of digital technology such as digital reputation systems, insurance, fraud detection algorithm, identity and credential verification, dispute resolute procedures and customer service, this allows a safer transaction to be made. Firstly, reputation systems, which are currently being used by many online marketplaces, operate by pursuing the transactions of a party and enabling the other party to give a rate or review once completing the transaction. Although reviews are made available to the public, negative reviews could be painting a bad image on behalf of the sellers (Dellarocas, 2003; Cabral and Hortacsu, 2010; Luca, 2013; Pallais, 2014). On the other hand, marketplaces namely eBay and Airbnb could not be made possible without the prevalence of reputation systems. This means that reputation systems should be properly designed despite the effects that arise. 

Reviews are often affecting consumer demand and they have the ability to reduce moral hazard on sellers’ behalf. In a two-sided review systems, both sellers and buyers could be exposed to the risk of retaliation when one of the parties gives a negative review. This is evident especially if we are familiar with the application, Carousell, where potential buyers or sellers are given the privilege to do a checking before pursuing with the transaction. Therefore, the system should be regulated by having the reviews to be revealed at the same time after both parties have submitted the reviews or once the submission period has ended. 

Meanwhile, online marketplaces that relate to supply of services to consumers are taking the issue of making fairer marketplaces in a serious manner. Airbnb and Uber require identification based on government issued documents as well as social media account to ensure the marketplaces are safe and can be trusted by the customers. Furthermore, when customers need a trusted driver to take them somewhere or wish to hire a professional to carry out a certain job, they shall not be worried since other marketplaces such as Lyft and Thumbtack which are widely visited by the people in the US, perform a thorough formal background checks and double-check professional certifications and licenses. Moreover, by relying on its cloud-based machine learning fraud detection, services offered by Sift Science allow companies to detect fake accounts, malicious content and credit card fraud, thus creating faster, smoother and safer online experiences.

Marketplaces are also focusing on customer service and dispute resolution since it is a meaningful competitive advantage to have a strong reputation of reliable customer service operation. 65% of the respondents claimed that an excellent customer support is the key to a company’s success in winning the customer’s loyalty and trust (KPMG, 2017). Buyers or sellers are given a compensation with a proper management in the case of unexpected events occurred during a transaction. Plus, marketplaces are also providing insurance contracts. For instance, in case of property damage such as accidents which occur during a transaction, Airbnb and Uber should cover the insurance on behalf of the sellers. 

FIGHTING CYBERCRIMES

The Electronic Commerce Act 2006 remains as one of the essentials primary source of electronic commerce directory for the private sector. The act has been improved by the existence of Electronic Government Activities Act 2007, which considers the same matter to those belong in the government sector. In addition, the Electronic Commerce Act 2006 is not another new act but it is in fact identical to the United Nations Electronic Communications Conventions. Furthermore, digital signatures are protected by the Digital Signature Act 1997 whereas the Electronic Commerce Act 2006 focuses on electronic signatures. 

As consumers, we should all be familiar with the Consumer Protection Act. Apart from demanding the minimum product standards, with this act, we have the rights against repression practices. In 2007, an amendment has been made to this act where it has expanded its focus to provide protection in e-commerce transactions. Due to the many issues of internet security, once again this act has been reviewed to improve the standard safety condition for services while security to consumers in a regular form contract. In addition, the effort of boosting the consumers’ confidence to perform online shopping can be seen through the implementation of Consumer Protection Regulations 2012. The guidelines highlight the requirement on online sellers and online marketplace operators, which are viewed to have a positive impact to our country’s e-commerce growth. 

Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was founded to regulate the information technology and communication industries. The Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 drives the Commission with a powerful authority to manage online speech and preventing individuals from releasing indecent or false promotion with the intention of threatening or harassing any other individual. Although the Malaysian Government has vowed not to censor the internet, those who fail to obey this may be facing criminal penalties. 

There are exactly 4 categories of activities related to unauthorized entry into computer systems which are barred by the Computer Crimes Act 1997. According to section 3, this includes the act of committing with the intention of securing unauthorized access to programs or data stored in any computer. Next, section 4 explains on the act of intending to secure unauthorized access to programs or data stored in any computer in order to commit fraud or dishonesty. Meanwhile, section 5 elaborates on the acts committed with the knowledge that the act will prompt unauthorized modification of the content of any computer. Lastly, section 6 mentions the unethical communication of any password, code or means of access to a computer to any person who is not authorized to receive the same. Although these provisions are concerning to computer crimes field, the provisions in e-commerce laws and copyright laws have complemented the legislation of Malaysia’s cybercrime, at the same time more appropriate with international standards.