Liability of Business Actors for the Sale of Illegal Pharmaceutical Products in E-Commerce: an Analysis Based on Law Number 8 of 1999 concerning Consumer Protection
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38035/jlph.v6i6.3905Keywords:
Consumer Protection, Good Faith, Illegal Pharmaceutical Products, E-Commerce, Business Actor LiabilityAbstract
The rapid growth of electronic commerce in Indonesia has expanded consumers' access to goods sold online, but it has also created new avenues for the circulation of illegal and potentially hazardous products. This study departs from an actual case in which a marketplace seller distributed unregistered pharmaceutical products under an account name that falsely conveyed an impression of official licensed status, raising two distinct legal questions: how business actors may be held liable for selling unregistered pharmaceutical products, and how a misleading representation of seller identity relates to the statutory duty of good faith. Employing a normative legal research method with a statutory and case approach, this study analyzes the Consumer Protection Law together with sectoral health and electronic trade regulations, illustrating the analysis with an administrative case and several dispute-resolution decisions. The study finds that liability for selling unregistered pharmaceutical products rests firmly on statutory grounds, while liability arising from misleading identity representation must be derived from the broader doctrine of good faith developed in general civil law, since the statute's own elucidation leaves this obligation textually open. The study further finds that the statutory dispute-resolution mechanism, although normatively available, remains vulnerable to inconsistent application in practice. These findings contribute a doctrinal basis for extending business actors' good faith obligations beyond product information to seller identity representation in electronic commerce.
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