CCPA issues advisory to e-commerce players against illegal sale of wireless jammers

The sale and use of wireless jammers for general consumption are illegal, the CCPA advisory said.Accordingly, any facilitation or sale of wireless jammers by an e-commerce platform should be viewed as an illegal activity and the same should be construed as a violation of the consumer rights and unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, it added.

Consumer protection regulator CCPA has issued an advisory to e-commerce companies against the illegal sale and facilitation of wireless jammers for general consumption, the Consumer Affairs Ministry said on Saturday.

Before CCPA, the Department of Telecommunication had issued an advisory on January 21, 2022, against the illegal facilitation and sale of wireless jammers on online platforms. The Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade too had on April 26 written a letter to all e-commerce entities to comply with the rules and regulations laid down by the government against the sale and purchase of any kind of mobile jammers.

''Whereas, it has come to the notice of CCPA that wireless jammers, capable of disrupting authorised telecom and wireless networks, are being facilitated for sale on e-commerce platforms. The sale and use of wireless jammers for general consumption are illegal,'' the CCPA advisory said.

Accordingly, any facilitation or sale of wireless jammers by an e-commerce platform should be viewed as an illegal activity and the same should be construed as a violation of the consumer rights and unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, it added. Stating that jammers are allowed only under ''exceptional circumstance'' with competent authority's approval, the ministry said the sale and use of any wireless device without authorisation/license under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 or Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act (IWTA) 1933, unless exempted by rules, is illegal. Jammers come under the purview of IWTA, 1933 and the Act lays down that license is required for possession and use of jammers.

''In view of the above, all e-commerce platforms are hereby advised to refrain from selling or facilitating the sale of any kind of wireless jammers in violation of the aforementioned compliances required for the sale of such devices,'' the advisory added. Under Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, CCPA is empowered to protect, promote and enforce the rights of consumers as a class, and prevent violation of consumers' rights. Further, CCPA is empowered to prevent unfair trade practices and ensure that no person engages himself in unfair trade practices.

CCPA is continuously monitoring the consumer protection landscape in the country. Recently, CCPA issued Safety Notices under Section 18(2)(j) of the Act to alert and caution consumers against buying goods which do not hold valid ISI Mark and violate compulsory BIS standards.

The first safety notice was issued with regard to helmets, pressure cookers and cooking gas cylinders and the second safety notice was issued about household goods, including electric immersion water heaters, sewing machines, microwave ovens, and domestic gas stoves with LPG etc.

To safeguard consumer rights while shopping online, CCPA has also issued an Advisory to all marketplace e-commerce entities to ensure that details of sellers as mandated under sub-rule (5) of rule 6 of the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020, including name and contact number of the grievance officer, are provided in a clear and accessible manner, displayed prominently to users on the platform.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)