Seldia and its members believe that additional legislation will not solve the problems faced by consumers and business. What is needed to solve these issues is effective enforcement and harmonisation of existing applicable consumer protection rules.

Digitalisation has created numerous opportunities for businesses and consumers. Consumers now have access to a wide range of products and services, while businesses can reach a broader audience. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of Direct Selling companies. For example, direct sellers not only conduct product demonstrations in people’s homes but also through online gatherings and social media interactions. The role of consumers has also evolved. Today, they play a more active role in their interactions with Direct Selling companies and direct sellers.

Consumer policy already encompasses a number of legislative instruments including the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the Consumer Rights Directive, the Omnibus Directive, the Digital Services Act, the General Data Protection Regulation, and the E-privacy Directive. The evolution and increase of digital in sales processes in retail and in Direct Selling makes it necessary to update part of these legislations because of specific identified issues like dark patterns, influencer marketing or personalised practises. This has been analysed by the Digital Fairness Fitness Check which will lead to proposals in the coming 5 years.

At Seldia, we emphasise the importance of improving enforcement and harmonisation of consumers protection across Member States. To this end, we have proposed several recommendations for the 2024-2029 mandate of the EU Institutions, including providing regulatory bodies with stronger tools and additional resources to enforce consumer protection rules effectively.

Seldia is a proactive stakeholder in consumer protection, consistently contributing to EU policy-making:

• Between 2014 and 2016, Seldia was an active supporter of the European Commission Consumer Rights Awareness Campaign.
• From 2016 to 2018, Seldia was a member of the REFIT stakeholder expert group on the review of EU consumer law carried out by the European Commission.
• Since 2021, Seldia has been a member of the Consumer Policy Advisory Group. The Group assists the European Commission in the preparation of Consumer policy initiatives.

Seldia has also adopted a Guidance regarding marketing on social media to help members companies to comply with applicable regulatory and self-regulatory rules, providing practical examples of good practice tailored to Direct Selling companies and their sellers.