Regulation of digital commerce

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This Overview introduces the legal and regulatory framework governing digital commerce, including key terminology and technologies. It signposts the core content on: information society services; intermediary liability; online platforms; business-to-business (B2B) trading; business-to-consumer (B2C) trading; mobile commerce (m-commerce); artificial intelligence; competition; intellectual property; data protection; digital advertising; and cross-border digital commerce.

Digital commerce is not regulated by a single statutory regime. Different legal and regulatory requirements will arise throughout the trading lifecycle, and greatly depend on the business model of the provider, the sales channels used, and the relevant customer type.

Digital commerce and the digital trading lifecycle

Digital commerce is an umbrella term used to reflect the evolution of traditional e‑commerce into a broader, lifecycle-based model of trading conducted through digital systems and channels. Unlike e‑commerce, which focuses primarily on the digital placement of orders, digital commerce refers to the full transactional journey, including marketing, ordering, payment, fulfilment and post-sale engagement.

Digital commerce may involve websites, online platforms, marketplaces, mobile apps, automated ordering systems, electronic data interchange (EDI), application programming interfaces (APIs), payment systems and customer account tools. These technologies shape how transactions are initiated,

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