Product liability of e-commerce marketplaces in India: law, judicial trends, and policy alternatives

This paper examines the product liability of e-commerce marketplaces in India under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. While the Act introduced a statutory framework for product liability, its application to online platforms like Amazon and Flipkart remains legally ambiguous. The paper argues against imposing liability on these marketplaces, as they lack substantial control over product design, quality, or safety-factors central to the evolution of product liability law. It analyses key business models, statutory provisions, and decisions by Indian consumer forums, revealing a pro-consumer bias unsupported by legal reasoning. Comparative insights from the United States and European Union further demonstrate that general platform liability is not the global norm. As an alternative, the paper proposes asymmetric mandatory insurance for third-party sellers exceeding a specified sales threshold. This solution is general in nature, applicable to all jurisdictions. This mechanism offers a pragmatic way to compensate consumers without stifling innovation. On a broader level, this paper contributes to the evolving legal discourse on consumer protection in the digital economy.