On October 5, 2020, Resolution No. 424/2020 of the Secretariat of Domestic Trade, dependent on the Ministry of Productive Development (the “Resolution”), was published in the Official Gazette. This resolution establishes the obligation to incorporate a “regret button” on websites that market goods and services through web pages or applications.
The reform of the Civil and Commercial Code of the Nation (“CCCN”) incorporated a series of articles on special contracting modalities. In particular, the right to revoke the acceptance of a contract entered into outside commercial establishments and at a distance, within a period of 10 days from the date of the contract’s execution, was incorporated (Article 1110 CCCN).
The resolution’s recitals emphasized that during the health emergency, disputes within the context of consumer relations in digital environments and the possibility of revoking acceptance in contracts concluded remotely have become more relevant.
In this regard – with the aim of promoting consumer protection policies – all providers who market goods and services through web pages or applications are required to publish a hyperlink called a “regret button,” through which consumers can request revocation of acceptance of the purchased product or contracted service.
As established in the Resolution, the revocation button must be easily accessible directly from the institutional website of the obligated entities and must be prominently displayed, visible, and leave no room for doubt as to what is being requested. Furthermore, the provider may not request prior registration or any other procedure from the consumer. Once the revocation request has been submitted, the provider will have 24 hours to inform the consumer of their revocation or revocation identification code number.
The Resolution has granted a period of 60 calendar days for providers of goods and services to adapt their websites.
In the event of non-compliance with the provisions of the Resolution, providers of goods and services will be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of Consumer Protection Law No. 24.240.
