Dear clients and friends,
On February 26, 2021, the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor), in coordination with the Ministry of Economy (Secretaría de Economía), published the Ethics Code for Electronic Commerce (the “Ethics Code”), establishing the guidelines, values and principles that every supplier of goods and services through electronic means must observe with respect to the transactions it enters into with consumers through the use of electronic, optical or any other technology.
Adherence to the Ethics Code
Adherence to the Ethics Code is voluntary for suppliers. This adhesion will be subject to its approval by the Federal Consumer Protection Agency, authority that, once its review process and compliance with the Ethics Code is completed, will approve or not the adhesion of the suppliers thereto. Adhering to the Ethics Code results in it becoming binding to suppliers, also making suppliers subject to the four monthly monitoring from the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (Procuradoría Federal del Consumidor) in accordance with the guidelines set forth below.
Supplier identity mechanisms
Suppliers that decide to adhere to the Ethics Code must make available to consumers the information that allows identifying the supplier (trade name, brand, name or company name), privacy notice, terms and conditions to which transactions will be subject, payment methods and all necessary information for the acquisition of a good, product or service, defining, in the latter case, the mechanisms of solution, return, replacement or exchange to which they will be subject.
Terms and Conditions
The application of the terms and conditions, together with the identity mechanisms, must be written in Spanish and kept in a degree of visibility easily accessible to the consumer. The terms and conditions must comply, as a minimum, with the general or particular contracting conditions of the different goods, products or services, the term to which the offers of these will be subject, payment restrictions and the conditions of their delivery and return.
Digital Advertising
The advertising used through the supplier’s digital platform must be truthful and not misleading or confusing, and must contain the identity of the advertiser, contact information and be attached to the guidelines of the Federal Consumer Protection Law. Suppliers must have a mechanism that allows the consumer not to receive direct commercial advertising.
Data Protection
The treatment of personal data will be subject to the privacy notice that the supplier must include in its platform or virtual store, verifying: (i) the content aimed at adults; (ii) that the warning and advertising legends do not incite children and adolescents to purchase a good, product or service from the supplier that could be made taking advantage of their inexperience or credulity or expose the latter to dangerous situations; (iii) that the published content does not contain visual presentations that could represent a mental, moral or physical harm to children and adolescents.
Dispute Resolution Mechanisms
Suppliers carrying out transactions through virtual platforms or stores must try to solve any dispute regarding their goods or services through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms.
It is important to point out that the provisions of the Ethics Code are in addition and not in lieu of any and all other requirements and regulations applicable to electronic commerce transaction including but not limited to, the Mexican Official Standard NMX-COE-001-SCFI-2018 published by the Ministry of Economy (Secretaría de Economía).
Our Specialized team within our corporate practice group will be glad to assist you in analyzing the implications of the Ethics Code and the rest of the applicable laws and regulations applicable to your electronic commerce activities in the Mexican market.
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