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JOSS :

Journal of Social Science

LEGAL PROTECTION FOR E-COMMERCE BUSINESSES AGAINST CONSUMER

REVIEWS

Julia Choeirunnissa

, Martin Situmorang

, Muhamad Zidan

, Endang Sutrisno

, Alip

Rahman

Universitas Swadaya Gunung Jati, Indonesia

E-mail: [email protected]

, [email protected]

[email protected]

, [email protected]

KEYWORDS

Legal Protection,

Business Actors, E-

Commerce

ABSTRACT

In e-commerce, customer reviews play an important role in

influencing the decisions made by customers. Before making a

purchase, many people read positive customer reviews because they

can offer useful information to potential buyers and increase their

overall level of trust in the product. Positive customer reviews also

help a store look more credible However, what happens to business

actors is not as expected, so consumers act in bad faith by making

bad judgments in marketplace product reviews. The purpose of this

study is to analyze the good faith of business actors and how it

impacts the law established by the Consumer Protection Law. This

study uses a normative legal research study whose findings show that

consumers are not liable for criticism that harms business entities, in

accordance with the Consumer Protection Law (UUPK). In

particular, Article 5a requires consumers to pay special attention to

product descriptions listed in stores.

INTRODUCTION

E-commerce has emerged as one of the most favored and successful commercial systems

in the digital age. E-commerce has enabled companies to make wider and more flexible

purchasing transactions by acting as an intermediary through the internet. It also allows

customers to purchase goods and services from various locations without having to leave their

homes (Sugesti et al., 2020).

Due to the ever-evolving information and communication technology, a large number of

businesses in the commercial sector are now able to facilitate online transactions through the

creation of marketplace websites or applications. There are many options available for people

to conduct online buying and selling transactions from several marketplaces (Dewi, 2015).

It is important to provide legal protection to good faith businesses for several reasons,

one of which is to foster a conducive business environment. Consumer confidence will increase

when businesses feel legally protected and are more likely to conduct their operations ethically

and in accordance with the law (Nainggolan, 2021). Consumers will be more confident and

comfortable doing business with companies that promise to behave honorably and recognizing

the dynamic and competitive marketplace, fair legal protection will encourage the development

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of a robust and competitive marketplace where businesses compete sensibly and do not harm

customers (Anggraini et al., 2020).

Businesses have obligations in E-commerce transactions under the Electronic

Information and Transaction Law (UUITE) and the Consumer Protection Law (UUPK)

(Ikhsan, 2022). If the customer finds products and/or services that are not in accordance with

the applicable regulations, the business actor must be responsible for the losses suffered by the

customer. In addition, business actors who conduct transactions through E-commerce have

received sufficient legal protection from the Consumer Protection Law (UUPK) (Tampubolon,

2016).

Nonetheless, there are still some practical obstacles to legal protection for good faith

business actors, among others: Lack of knowledge of the law: Many businesses are vulnerable

to violations and ineffective enforcement because they do not fully understand their rights and

obligations under the GCPL: GCPL is still not well enforced, which means that offending

businesses escape harsh penalties and face a convoluted legal system: For businesses seeking

legal certainty, the judicial process associated with consumer protection claims is often

complex and time-consuming (Kurniawan et al., 2022).

Where this becomes challenging for businesses is when they suffer from the actions of

customers who leave negative reviews and ratings. These reviews and ratings are obviously

very detrimental to businesses as they result in inappropriate reviews and ratings for their store,

which lowers sales as it erodes the confidence of other potential customers who might

otherwise purchase from the marketplace. Furthermore, Indonesians are relatively unfamiliar

with incidents involving unfavorable reviews (Saragih & Bagaskara, 2023).

The purpose of this study is to analyze the good faith of business actors and how it

impacts the law stipulated by the Consumer Protection Law.

Therefore, the following initiatives should be taken to strengthen legal protection for

good faith business actors: Increase the socialization and education of UUPK: In addition to

strengthening law enforcement, the government must also increase education and socialization

of the UUPK to business actors and the wider community: Clarify guidelines and penalties,

improve the ability of law enforcement personnel, and streamline the legal system. All are

necessary to improve law enforcement's ability to combat violations of UUPK: Simplifying

procedures and speeding up case resolution are necessary means to facilitate legal proceedings

relating to consumer protection issues. The main concern, given the above-mentioned

phenomenon, is how businesses that suffer losses due to bad faith consumers can be legally

protected.

RESEARCH METHODS

The subject matter studied, the author uses normative juridical legal research methods

(normative legal research methods). The normative juridical research method is a library legal

research conducted by examining library materials or secondary data only. Normative juridical

research aims to examine and analyze legal norms related to legal protection of e-commerce

business actors in good faith. By using the deductive thinking method (a way of thinking in

drawing conclusions drawn from something general in nature that has been proven to be true

and the conclusion is intended for something specific) (Wulandari, 2018).

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Thus the object analyzed with a qualitative approach is a research method that refers to

the legal norms contained in the legislation.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Legislation, including GCPL and Civil Code, is categorized as civil law according to the

author's analysis because the majority of its rules regulate the private sphere and only apply to

parties involved in a dispute, so it should be used by business actors as a first step before turning

to criminal law as the last means of resolving disputes (ultimum remidium).

Although there have been recent examples of problems caused by consumers that

negatively affect businesses, such as situations where customers give negative ratings and

reviews on products they bought or sold through these marketplaces, the application of the

principle of legal equality in Indonesia, which is a country of laws, is still lacking. This is based

on the many regulations that protect consumers more than businesses, such as the Consumer

Protection Law.

Based on actual research findings from several marketplaces, the data shows a number

of phenomena related to negative customer reviews. Ideally, a customer assesses and reviews

a product according to the quality of the goods they buy and the services provided by the store,

not the other way around. This is because it is very detrimental to business actors when

customers give negative reviews without providing clear explanations or not in accordance

with existing facts, which is detrimental to business actors (Catriana, 2022).

Providing negative ratings and reviews in the circumstances described in the background

above is not acting in good faith. The author argues that consumers have violated the principle

of good faith by doing so without providing reasonable justification and encouraging dishonest

behavior that is not done in good faith. Business actors who want to sell well and honestly (in

good faith) will be harmed if this is allowed to continue, therefore business actors need legal

protection (Online, 2023).

Because in essence, both consumers and business actors have agreed to buy and sell, and

both have achieved their respective goals: consumers have ordered, paid, and received goods

in online buying and selling transactions through the marketplace, and business actors have

delivered goods in good condition and provided maximum service to consumers. However, in

online transactions through the marketplace, there are still other things that consumers should

fulfill properly and optimally, such as providing reviews as a form of gratitude or as

suggestions and criticism to the seller. However, consumers are considered to have taken

dishonest actions that are misleading, giving rise to accusations that they are not being honest

when giving reviews. This happens when customers do not use their rights honestly to provide

reviews that are in accordance with the store's services and the condition of the goods they buy

(Kasim, 2022).

According to the author's analysis, the customer has not only violated the principle of

good faith by giving a false review, but has also committed an unlawful act (onrechmatige

daad). This is supported by the opinions of legal experts in the theoretical framework

mentioned above and by the existence of Article 1365 which stipulates that when consumers

commit unlawful acts and cause losses to business actors, then business actors must be

responsible for these losses, namely by compensating for these losses.

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Because this review issue is still relatively new and not often discussed, marketplaces

offer a first line of defense in the event of inappropriate negative reviews: businesses can

respond to customer reviews to show that the seller is taking the issue seriously. If the customer

does not change their evaluation after taking this step, marketplace reviews show that there are

methods to eliminate negative reviews. Businesses only need to contact customer support to

submit a review. The business must then seek approval from the customer before removing the

review; only then can the review be removed.

As such, the procedures followed in the industry to resolve these review issues are still

quite complicated and challenging. As a result, businesses have the right to express their rights

as they are protected by GCPL and can do so even if the marketplace does not offer clear and

robust services or features in terms of protection.

According to the author's analysis and opinion, there are still many legal loopholes in the

consumer protection law because of the unclear articles in the GCPL, especially Article 6 letter

B, whether business actors have the right to report to BPSK if they are harmed by consumers.

It is also mentioned that business actors have rights if they are harmed by consumers who are

not in good faith, but it is not clear how these rights will be implemented and where these rights

will be protected.

This is because there is no clause in GCPL that authorizes businesses to file a complaint

with the Consumer Dispute Settlement Body or the general court if their consumers harm them.

The GCPL must be revised as a result of the growing number of current issues affecting

businesses as a result of consumer behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

E-commerce in the business world is the use of the latest technology such as the internet

to facilitate business activities, can get several benefits such as customer service and facilitate

access to information much faster. If a business actor is given a negative review from a

consumer that does not match the facts so that it causes harm to the business actor, the legal

protection for the business actor will be analyzed based on a positive legal perspective.

Online shop operators are entitled to legal protection if the buyer does not act in good

faith, which should be a requirement. Regarding the consumer's bad faith, the consumer is

responsible for paying back the amount equivalent to the loss incurred by the business,

terminating the contract, reimbursing the risk, and bearing the burden of litigation if the matter

needs to be taken to court.

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Julia Choeirunnissa

, Martin Situmorang

, Muhamad Zidan

, Endang Sutrisno

Alip Rahman

(2024)

First publication right:

JoSS - Journal of Social Science

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0

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