The Consumer Policy Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) approved Costa Rica’s adhesion to the Organization.
This approval is due to the partial reform of the Regulation of the Law on Promotion of Competition and Effective Defense of the Consumer, in order to adjust the national regulation to international practices on electronic commerce.
As part of the process, a public consultation was held, with several days of negotiation and dialogue with various sectors, especially with online suppliers.
This was a complex process, because it was the first regulation of the country around electronic commerce,”
said Geannina Dinarte, Minister of Economy.
In this case, they had the collaboration of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the United States to raise awareness of the sectors and publicize the reform by participating in various forums and meetings.
The Electronic Commerce Observatory was also created, which monitors websites with the aim of detecting fraudulent commercial practices and misleading advertising and seeks to develop awareness campaigns on electronic commerce.
Thanks to its implementation, from May to October, 725 websites have been visited, 30 of which were marked for follow-up and 15 preventions were made.
Another improvement is the issue of dispute resolution and attention to complaints, through the introduction of collective mediations, which seek to gather the largest number of consumers affected by the same behavior.
It also works on the creation of the National System of Consumer Protection that would establish clear coordination mechanisms between the different regulators, civil society and the Consumer Support Directorate.