[The Chosun Ilbo, January 10 2008] FTC Sets Internet Shopping Mall Standards

The Fair Trade Commission has come up with a set of guidelines to smooth one's visit to Internet shopping malls.

In a bid to give online shoppers the ability to make better choices, the antitrust watchdog chose 31 products to test out the new policy of providing more information on merchandise.

Under the new measure, clothes shoppers, for example, will know the material maker and method of cleaning their online purchase. The same goes for electronics which will be presented with the date they were produced as well as the cost of getting repairs.

The FTC hopes to reduce complaints about Internet shopping, which have been on the rise over the last two years. Monthly online shopping transactions topped US$148.8 million for the first time in November last year.