Halloween without nightmares: complying with AI Act, returns and the right of withdrawal

Is Halloween approaching and are orders for costumes flooding into your ecommerce store? Your concerns go beyond making sure orders reach your customers before October 31, because your website also needs to comply with a whole range of digital regulations: AI-generated images, your exchanges and returns policy, the right of withdrawal…

In this article, we explain what your ecommerce business needs to take into account to comply with all these requirements and avoid fines. Don’t miss it!

1. AI in your images

With the entry into force of the Artificial Intelligence Act, as of August 2, there are certain labelling obligations for images generated or modified using AI.

Therefore, if costumes on your website are shown on AI-generated people with hyper-realistic faces and bodies, making it impossible to tell whether they are real people or not, you must label this content appropriately.

You may also find yourself in a situation where costume images are provided by a supplier and you have doubts about whether AI was used to create them. You should bear in mind that the legal obligation to label the content falls on you because you are the one publishing it on your website. For this reason, reasonable due diligence is required regarding the catalogue you work with: the obligation to label applies in the same way whether the image comes from a stock photo library or has been provided by a supplier or external designer.

However, not all content is subject to this obligation. For example, you do not need to add a label if you make minor adjustments to lighting or contrast, correct colours, remove red eyes or upscale the resolution using AI tools, provided these changes do not alter the substance of the product.

💡 If you want to learn more about labelling images on your ecommerce website, here is our complete GUIDE to help you comply.

2. The right of withdrawal

The right of withdrawal is the right consumers have to change their mind and return a product purchased online within 14 days of receiving it, without having to provide any justification.

It is essential that you explicitly inform your customers about their right of withdrawal for two specific legal reasons that directly affect your business:

• Extension of the deadline. If you fail to provide this information, the withdrawal period is extended from 14 days to 1 year.
• Risk of fines. Failure to provide consumers with correct information about their rights can directly lead to penalties from consumer protection authorities.

You should also bear in mind that if a customer exercises their right of withdrawal, you must refund the full amount paid, including standard delivery costs, within a maximum of 14 calendar days from receiving the withdrawal request. However, you have the right to withhold the refund until you have received the goods or until the customer has provided proof that they have returned them.

Furthermore, if you do not want to bear the cost of the return, it is very important to inform the customer in your terms and conditions of purchase that they will be responsible for covering the return costs. If you fail to provide this information properly, your online store will have to bear the cost of the return.

Exceptions to the right of withdrawal

However, your costumes may be excluded from the right of withdrawal in two cases:

1. If the item you sell is underwear, the law allows an exception whereby you may refuse the return for health or hygiene reasons if the item has been unsealed.
   
   What does this mean in practice? If, for example, a customer purchases a costume consisting of a bra that comes into direct contact with the skin and then returns it without the original hygiene seal or protective covering (i.e. unsealed), you may refuse the return. This is because the law considers that once the protective covering has been removed, the garment has lost its hygiene guarantee and cannot be resold to another customer.
   
2. If you offer made-to-measure or personalised costumes. In other words, if the costume has been made according to specifications provided by the consumer or has been clearly personalised, the right of withdrawal does not apply.
   
   What does this mean in practice? If a customer purchases a witch’s hat with their name embroidered on it and then attempts to exercise their right of withdrawal, you may refuse the return. This is because a personalised costume is, by definition, a unique product that cannot be sold to another customer.
   

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3. Returns and labels

As mentioned above, current legislation establishes a mandatory legal period of 14 calendar days from receipt of the product during which consumers can exercise their right of withdrawal. This means that, during these 14 days, you cannot refuse a return simply because the label is missing. You may only apply a proportional reduction to the amount to be refunded if the product has been handled beyond what is necessary to establish its nature, characteristics or functioning.

This is because customers have the right to try on a costume to check its size and characteristics, in much the same way as they would in a physical store. Therefore, removing the labels could be considered handling that goes beyond what is necessary to try on the garment. As a result, as a business, you have the right to deduct a proportional amount from the refund, but under no circumstances can you deny or reject the return.

How can we help you?

If you run an ecommerce business that sells costumes, before Halloween:

1. Hire Vericta to check whether the images provided by your suppliers have been generated using AI.
2. Install our floating AI Sentinel widget so that your customers are informed whether images have been created or modified using AI when they visit your website.
3. Hire Lawwwing to have terms and conditions of purchase that comply with current regulations and properly regulate the right of withdrawal.

Don’t wait any longer — make sure your ecommerce business is compliant with us!