Trouble ahead for digital download firms?

Our aged consumer laws are finally being dragged into the 21st Century. The draft Consumer Rights Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech will give consumers the right to return faulty digital products. Good news right? Yes, but with a whole lot of ‘what ifs’ thrown into the mix. That’s what I discovered when I was researching the story for this month’s DMA legal newsletter.

More than £1bn was spent on downloaded films, music and games in the UK last year and around 16 million people experienced at least one problem with digital content in 2011. So there’s no doubt that our consumer law need updating – much of it is 30 years old and predates the internet itself, never mind the online shopping and digital revolution.

But how will this new right for consumers to return faulty digital goods work in practice? Will they get refunds for apps that freeze or film streams that are unwatchable? It could be that the problem lies with the consumer’s hardware or a dodgy broadband connection. Who will decide who or what’s at fault? And what about bugs? They’re the norm for apps and digital games, as anyone who has a smartphone knows.

What the Bill doesn’t make clear is whether or not a patch or update counts as a replacement. No wonder download businesses are wary of the Bill. As “We shouldn’t knock the Government for trying, but it doesn’t appear they have been particularly well advised on how to shape these changes to consumer law,” Dermot Stapleton of GetGames said on MCV.com.

The Bill certainly shows how tricky it is to legislate effectively for technological change. We’d be interested to hear your views on this.

By Smarayda Christoforou, the DMA’s copywriter