Cyber Monday Colloquium on “Increase in E-Commerce transactions: A need for Regulation”

“Cyber Monday” is a marketing term for e-commerce transactions on the Monday after Thanksgiving in the United States. It was created by retailers to encourage people to shop online. While the concept may have been started in the United States it has now solidified across the globe. Cyber Monday takes place the Monday after Thanksgiving; the date falls between November 26 and December 2, depending on the year. In India, E-commerce MNCs like Amazon, Flipkart have solidified “Cyber Monday” into an annual event.

The Cyber Law Committee, School of Law CHRIST ( Deemed to be University), Pune  Lavasa hosted a colloquium on “Increase in E-Commerce transactions: A need for Regulation” on Cyber Monday, 28 November 2022 in the Central Block Auditorium.

This event was aligned with the objective of the committee to analyze and explore newly emerging trends in cyberspace. Thus, the primary object of this project was to gain meaningful insight into the practical application of E-commerce Laws in India, the current scenario and the way forward. It also touched upon the intersection of Environmental law, Consumer Protection Law, Taxation Law and Labour Law with E-Commerce Laws.

The colloquium selected speakers from the student body through a released Google form. The selected speakers engaged in a discussion that revolved around a reading material compiled for this event. It comprised three primary references 

1. Int. J. Electronic Marketing and Retailing, Vol. 5, No. 3, 2013 Black Friday and Cyber Monday: a case study  Maria Petrescu & Micah Murphy

2. The Emerging Trend. J Bus Ethics. 2022;180(2):581-604. Chawla N, Kumar B.  E-Commerce and Consumer Protection in India 

3. International Journal of Law and Management, Vol. 52 Iss 4 pp. 265 - 282 Dr Sumanjeet, “The state of e-commerce laws in India: a review of Information Technology Act"

The Colloquium was declared open by the Head of the Department, School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Lavasa Pune Campus. 

The moderator of the session then introduced the event and guided the session forward. All the themes in this material were explored in depth using the Socratic method, a form of a cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions.

It encouraged the audience comprising of Students, Faculty members, the Head of the Department of School of Law, the Dean and Director of the Campus, to explore the impact of e-commerce events like Cyber Monday on the economy and the gap which in the existing legislation which aims to regulate it.The event experimented involving students as speakers as well as listeners. The event encouraged the audience to understand the grey areas of cyber laws governing e-commerce transactions.

The event concluded with the speakers suggesting policy reforms to the existing framework in terms of environmental protection, taxation, consumer protection and labor law.