New Requirements For Consumer-facing Industries

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Law Firm: Schoenherr Attorneys at Law
• Subject Matter: Consumer Protection, Dodd-Frank, Consumer Protection Act
• Author: Mr Marko Frantar and Masha Koro'ec
• Published date: 06 February 2023

The new Slovenian Consumer Protection Act (Zakon o varstvu potroanikov; ZVPot-1; "CPA-1") became applicable on 26 January 2023. The act implements three EU directives, specifically Directive (EU) 2019/2161¹, Directive (EU) 2019/770² and Directive (EU) 2019/771.³ CPA-1 repeals not only the previously applicable Consumer Protection Act, but also the Consumer Protection from Unfair Commercial Practices Act (Zakon o varstvu potroanikov pred nepoatenimi poslovnimi praksami).

We briefly outline below some of the main changes brought forward by CPA-1, the majority of which are driven by the EU consumer protection law.

Contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services

• In line with Directive (EU) 2019/770, CPA-1 distinguishes between supply of digital content (meaning data which are produced and supplied in digital form, which includes computer programs, applications, video files, audio files, music files e-books or other e-publications) and supply of digital services (which includes services that allow for the creation processing or storage of data in digital form, including software-as-a-service, such as video and audio sharing and other file hosting, word processing or games offered in the cloud computing environment and social media).
• Rules on contracts for supply of digital content/services also apply when a consumer, rather than paying with money, provides their personal data as consideration, unless such personal data are processed exclusively for the purpose of supplying a digital content/service or for allowing the trader to comply with its legal obligations. CPA-1 also provides for use of digital representations of value such as electronic vouchers or e-coupons to pay for different digital goods and services.
• In accordance with Directive 2019/770/EU, conformity of goods is assessed against subjective and objective requirements for conformity, respectively. Very broadly, subjective conformity requirements focus on the characteristics as agreed between the parties, while objective conformity requires among other things that the goods are fit for the purposes for which goods of the same type would normally be used.
• Finally, in line with Directive (EU) 2019/771, a distinction is drawn between contracts for supply of digital content (described above) and contracts for supply of goods with digital elements (defined as tangible movable items that incorporate or are interconnected with, digital content or digital services in such a way that...