According to the International Telecommunications Union, 43.3% of the world’s population has access to the internet:
The internet is a dynamic area and it is in constant evolution. Given its noticeable increasing presence in our everyday life, and its incorporation into our economic and commercial life, it is necessary to establish a legal framework that regulates the use of this medium. This is now regulated by the Law of Information Society Services and electronic commerce of 2002 (LSSI in Spanish).
The LSSI is applicable when there is an economic activity/profit for the provider of the service, that is to say, when the web page receives income, whether it is:
Therefore, its objective is to regulate the legal regime of the internet-related services and electronic contracting, by ensuring that:
Service providers can be:
The LSSI sets the necessary rules for the use and enjoyment of the network, as well as it grants that the possible economic activity generated is safe for service providers, both providers of intermediation, as companies that offer their products, or citizens who possess a web page.
Given that users already have at their disposal the whole repertoire of civil and criminal actions to demand the fulfillment of the contractual obligations assumed by electronic means, the LSSI adds to these the action for injunction, which is directed to obtain the immediate cessation of any conduct contrary to the LSSI which affects the collective or diffuse interests of consumers and users. This action can be exercised by the persons, associations or groups of consumers and users affected, as well as by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the National Institute of Consumption and the corresponding bodies of the Autonomous Communities and local entities with competence in the field of defense of consumers.
The Law of Services of the Information Society is focused primarily to regulate commerce on the Internet, but it goes further than just that, it regulates all kinds of services of the information society and the different providers.
Who is subject to this law?
Jéssica Serra
International Department