LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY OF INTERMEDIARIES IN ECOMMERCE

In the present digitised world, e-commerce has acquired tremendous significance and assists society in every walk of life. E-commerce companies are increasing in number day by day, and slowly but steadily, e-commerce companies are gaining popularity, and their market share is increasing with the increased use of digital technology in the everyday life of people. Due to the ever-evolving nature of digital technology, e-commerce companies also have to keep themselves abreast and adorning different functions and roles in providing for the needs of modern society. In doing so, e-commerce companies perform the role of intermediaries. ‘Intermediary’ means someone who acts as a middleman between two parties. Thus intermediaries facilitate transactions among parties online. Some e-commerce platforms/companies act as intermediaries connecting producers with consumers, sharing information and offering products to the public. Despite the crucial role played by the intermediaries, there is no adequate liability fastened upon them. The Information Technology Act, 2000, Section 79 provide for certain liabilities of the intermediary, but the same does not serve the purpose, and the intermediaries can escape from their liabilities due to the shortcoming of the law. The present article discusses the need for fastening adequate liability on the intermediaries. It further emphasises that liabilities on the intermediaries could be fixed considering their functions in a given e-commerce transaction and the type of intermediary. It also refers to the new Consumer Protection Act 2019 and its E-commerce Rules 2020.