Poland: Implemented EU Directive deriving Amendments concerning Consumer Rights Protection and Unfair Market Practices Regulation

On 1 January 2023, the Polish Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UoKiK) announced the entry into force of certain amendments to the Act on Consumer Rights, the Act on Counteracting Unfair Market Practices, the Act on Information on Prices of Goods and Services, and the Civil Code resulting from the implementation of three European directives, namely the Omnibus Directive, the Goods Directive, and the Digital Directive. Some protective measures have been introduced regarding online consumer protection and unfair market practices. First of all, the consumer will be informed about the nature of the selling entity, which can be a company or an individual, and will have additional rights regarding the transparency of information about the obligations arising from the contract. There will also be stricter parameters for the transparency of search results and the parameters determining their order. Thirdly, the activity of online bots dealing with the purchase of tickets for recreational events will be prohibited. It is also forbidden for vendors to label consumer reviews as trustworthy without contemporarily implementing mechanisms to ensure their authenticity. Regarding the use of personal data as a means of payment for digital services, additional protections are granted to the consumer concerning the termination of the contract within 14 days of signing.