Selling by Description Through Electronic Advertising: Guarantees and Mechanisms to Protect Qualified Persons From Misleading Jurisprudence and Law

Abstract

The resurgence of the digital economy hinges on the e-commerce provider’s adherence to numerous legal and regulatory ethical principles. While the appeal of e-commerce has fueled the growth of digital shopping, it has also led to a troubling trend where digital merchants, driven by sheer greed, have increasingly adopted misleading deceptive product descriptions to entice consumers into making purchases. As a result, these consumers often find themselves victims of transgressions that are incompatible with the principles of Islamic jurisprudence and the Algerian electronic commerce law.

Through this research, we will perform a comparative analysis of the protective guarantees and mechanisms enshrined in both Islamic Sharia and Algerian e-commerce legislation for protecting consumers from fraudulent enticement, deception, and misleading advertising, which are an illegal form of what contemporary jurists term "sale by description." Using a descriptive-analytical method, the study revealed that, for all its contemporary relevance, the subject finds foundational principles in Islamic jurisprudence. Furthermore, it reveals a significant alignment in the protective frameworks of both systems, notwithstanding differences in qualifying the infringement and its punishment. The study culminates in a series of practical recommendations aimed at mitigating the transgressions of e-commerce merchants