In recent years e-commerce has acquired great importance worldwide, understanding electronic commerce as any economic transaction that involves the offering, marketing or sale of goods, products or services using electronic, digital, optical or any other technology through a system of digital information.
This form of commerce emerged in the 1970s in the United States and evolved to the way we know it today with digital platforms such as Mercado Libre, Amazon, Airbnb, Uber, Facebook, Google, the great technological giants.
In Mexico, growth has been important, we only have to review the figures of electronic commerce: according to the AMI analysis, the e-commerce market in Mexico will reach US$60.8 billion in 2022, a 25% growth compared to 2021. For Americas Market Intelligence e-commerce in Mexico will have a compound annual growth of 24% between 2021 and 2025, reaching US$114 billion.
Andrew D. Mitchell notes: “In its broadest sense, trade electronic wraps the conduct of business using more modern communication tools: telephone, fax, television, electronic payment, money transfer systems, electronic data interchange and Internet”, but the reality is that many of these transactions today present legal, fiscal, and administrative loopholes that in Mexico are not being regulated by the State.
In legal matters, we have the Mexican Norm of Electronic Commerce NMX-COE-001-SCFI-2018 that establishes the provisions to which all those natural or legal persons who habitually or professionally offer, market or sell goods, products or services, through the use of electronic, optical or any other technology. In addition to our Commercial Code: “Article 641. – Electronic, optical or any other technology may be used in commercial acts. There is also the Code of Ethics in the field of Electronic Commerce where the minimum standards are established, including but not limited to, both commercial activities carried out in digital electronic media, as well as compliance verification mechanisms. It seeks to respect and promote consumer rights, foster a culture of responsible consumption, promote the human rights of consumers, ethical and responsible digital advertising, the protection of vulnerable groups and self-regulation.
Electronic commerce offers various benefits to all the different economics agents. Consumers have advantages, such as avoiding coscosts of displacement, a greater offer of products and services, costs lower prices for certain products compared to the physical market.
However, it is urgent to create an Electronic Commerce Law, which regulates and unifies the aforementioned, in legal, fiscal, social, human rights, social responsibility aspects of companies and users, who participate in this digital world. It is also imperative that Mexican jurists study and disseminate the law of information and communication technologies in Mexican legal doctrine.