Laws and regulations

Visa and Mastercard are charging retailers excessive fees, which the credit card companies raise unilaterally. As a result, they are hindering competition and innovation in the European payments market, according to several trade associations in a letter to the European Commission.

Italian company Moltiply Group, which operates popular price comparison website Trovaprezzi, has announced that it is suing Google’s parent company Alphabet. The company is seeking damages, as Google is abusing its dominant market position.

The European Commission has conducted an investigation into online traders of second-hand goods. A majority of the companies involved in the so-called sweep may be in breach of European consumer rights and will be further investigated.

The European Parliament has approved a revision of VAT rules. As a result, online platforms will be liable for VAT payments if their sales partners do not fulfill this obligation. The reform aims to prevent unfair competition and combat VAT fraud. Businesses will save billions on costs, according to policymakers in Brussels.

The EU aims to curb the influx of unsafe products entering the European market via ecommerce platforms such as Temu, Shein, and Amazon. Brussels wants to make these platforms liable for dangerous or illegal products sold online. There are also plans to establish a new EU customs authority.

Most well-known marketplaces and social media platforms are using dark patterns. These are designs that manipulate consumers into making impulsive purchases, or into revealing more data. Using these patterns is banned under the DSA. Stricter regulations seem necessary, say researchers.

A new European regulation imposes strict requirements on products sales in the EU market. Many online stores and marketplaces sellers in the United Kingdom lack sufficient arrangements and have opted to stop selling to customers in the EU altogether.

With 16.3 million monthly users, Temu is more popular in Germany than anywhere else in the European Union. The more well-known Shein attracts more attention in France, Spain, and Italy, but generates the most revenue in Europe in Germany.

The European Commission is starting a formal investigation into Temu, to see if the platform does enough to combat the sale of illegal products, amongst other issues. It also has ongoing investigations into other platforms, like AliExpress.

Next year, Asian online marketplaces Shein's and Temu's growth rates will drop significantly. This is predicted in a report published by Forrester. The expected decline is related to current complaints about the marketplaces.

OnBuy, a popular pure marketplace from the United Kingdom, has announced its international growth plans. By the end of this year, the rollout of 'The Cashback Marketplace' will begin across continental Europe, with the United States following next year.

German Minister for Economic Affairs and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck is working on an ecommerce action plan. With this plan, the government aims to create a level playing field between European online retailers and Asian platforms like Shein and Temu.

The majority of Dutch online stores that sell products through dropshipping do not comply with legal regulations for online selling. Their websites lack contact details or information about returning orders, for example.

The Turkish government is implementing drastic tax changes to reduce online consumer orders from foreign online stores. Import duties are set to rise significantly, while the exemption threshold will be lowered. Additionally, an extra tax will be introduced for certain product categories.

The European Parliament has made some progress in its proposal to simplify VAT rules for ecommerce imports. It wants to remove the threshold of 150 euros for import duties. Negotiations are still ongoing, but it has now been decided that the proposed changes will come into effect by March 2028.