Consumer Protection in the Digital Economy and Its Legal Challenges

The 21st century is the era of the digital economy and technological achievements. Digital business models have created unprecedented socio-economic relationships and quickly dominated the market share of traditional business models in the same industry. These new business models are praised for their economic effects. On the contrary, they are criticized as the parties involved and the relationships created seems to be moving away from the norms determined by applicable business laws. Facing with the digital economy and its business models, many governments are confused because they have not found yet the right way to adjust them. Regarding the relationships between the parties of digital business model, how to protect legitimate interests of consumers is one of the most essential legal issues that has attracted widespread attention. To answer this question, the article will examine and analyze the legal role of consumers in the relationship with other parties, thereby finding out the legal challenges and giving suggestions on building a legal framework to protect consumers in the digital economy.