World Consumer Rights Day 2022 – MCCAA conference: Empowering consumers in the digital and green transition

The MCCAA marked World Consumer Rights Day by a conference themed “Empowering consumers in the digital and green transition”, held on 15 March 2022.

The MCCAA Chairperson Inġ. Helga Pizzuto said that the conference served as an opportunity to reflect on how the stakeholders could work together towards a safer and more sustainable market for the benefit of consumers.

Highlighting 2021 milestones, Inġ. Pizzuto referred to the legislative changes that were enacted to transpose the EU directives on the Sale of Goods and Digital Content that came into force on 1^st January of this year. She noted that the new rules were necessary for consumer legislation to adequately cater for the wide range of innovative digitally enabled products and digital services offered for sale to consumers.

The conference saw two panel discussions.

During the panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities of the digital transition, panellists from the European Commission, the MCCAA and Tech MT, discussed how businesses are rethinking their business models to meet emerging consumer needs and to remain competitive in the new digital era; the challenges consumers encounter when they shop online, including issues related to product safety; and the current legal liabilities of online marketplaces.

The important role of the Digital Investigations Unit, recently set-up by the MCCAA, and how it endeavours to ensure that consumers only have access to safe products when shopping online, was outlined in the discussion.

The second panel delved into the importance of stimulating the green choice as the natural choice. Speakers from the University of Malta, the industry and the MCCAA, discussed how various approaches can be adopted to encourage sustainable choices. The pros and cons of approaches taken in the recent past were also explored. Panellists stressed the importance of simple product labelling and accessible pricing as key elements to enhance consumer green choices.

The conference brought together relevant stakeholders who participated actively in the discussion which identified a number of actions that will serve to continue enhancing consumer interests.