New Rules for Online Business: Omnibus Directive in Practice

The Omnibus Directive aims to upgrade consumer protection rules as the EU gears up for the digital age. It widens consumer protection to digital goods and services, and has a significant impact on companies doing business online and market place platforms.

As companies adjust their day-to-day operations, including sales and marketing practices, a thorough understanding of these new regulations and ensuring compliance with them is crucial to avoid the risk of any sanctions and potentially high fines.

Just over six months in from the Directive’s entry into force, we discussed open questions and challenges that businesses face:

• achieving compliance for digital goods and services
• new rules for online shops
• the application of sanctions and fines
• lessons learnt from the practice