Morocco Moves to Tighten E-Commerce Regulations Amid Rising Consumer Complaints

According to figures provided by the government, more than 2,400 complaints were filed in 2023, about a fifth of which concern the e-commerce sector. Consumers complain in particular about products not complying with the descriptions, difficulties in exercising their right of withdrawal, reimbursement problems and delivery delays.

Bouazza Kherrati, president of the Moroccan Federation of Consumer Rights (FMDC), sounds the alarm: "The number of complaints registered represents only the visible part of the iceberg. Many consumers, due to lack of knowledge or discouragement, give up asserting their rights." He points to the lack of regulation of commercial platforms on social networks, where abuses are legion.

Aware of the urgency of the situation, Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Industry and Trade, has announced a battery of measures to modernize the legal framework, which dates back to 2000 and is no longer adapted to current realities, by clarifying the obligations of e-merchants, with a view to strengthening the guarantees offered to consumers.

The government also plans to train judges and lawyers in the new legal provisions in order to ensure optimal implementation. Mr. Kherrati, for his part, insists on the need to extend these measures to online sales platforms present on social networks and calls for the reactivation of a Digital Code project, pending for more than a decade.