Centre pulls up Amazon, Byju's for unfair consumer practices: Report

Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the department of consumer affairs has powers to penalise companies for misleading ads and unfair trade practices

The Department of Consumer Affairs has pulled up Amazon and Byju's for their anti-consumer practices, a report in the Financial Express (FE) said. Amazon's algorithms prioritise their private labels and of the companies it has investments in. Byju's has reportedly been asked to stop advertisements that further its business while misleading customers.

"We have told Amazon that your algorithms and the way you throw results at people have to be fair. You can't have your own labels and companies in which you have invested appear on top of search results. This is not fair," Rohit Kumar Singh, secretary, department of consumer affairs, was quoted as saying at an industry seminar, in the FE report. 

He said that the balance between the seller and the consumer needs to be maintained. 

"We had called all the edtech companies and said don't put pressure on students. Don't have Shah Rukh Khan telling a mom that two tutors are better than one tutor, get two for the price of one," Singh said on Byjus's.

Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the department has powers to penalise companies for misleading ads and unfair trade practices. Consumers also have the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices, restrictive trade practices and exploitation of consumers. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) can act upon consumer complaints by consumers as well as take up matters on its own.

"How is it that when I search Google for a shoe, the next thing on my Facebook feed is a shoe advertisement? Who is responsible for that? I know it is good for the sellers, but as a consumer it is very painful and hurts my rights that information about me, my choices is being shared without my express consent," Singh added.