Brazil introduces e-commerce guidelines

Brazil's Ministry of Justice has published guidelines to ensure consumer rights when shopping on the Internet. A major focus of the report is to guarantee consumers the right to withdraw from a purchase, without providing any reason and without generating costs.

The document also provides protection against abusive practices and prior access by the consumer to the general conditions of a contract. According to research done by e-bit, Brazilian consumers spent BRL 6.7 billion in purchases on the Internet in the first half of 2010, a 40 percent increase over the same period last year.