The Ottawa-headquartered company has committed to report merchants that pressure-sell, hide costs, offer counterfeit products and engage in other illegal practices to national consumer authorities, and take down any such stores identified by regulators, the European Commision (EC) said. Shopify has also updated its terms of service to require clients publish contact information, a refund policy and order-fulfillment times. Shopify did not respond to a request for comment. (The Logic)

Talking point: Regulators reported a spike in complaints about Shopify merchants during the pandemic, with Belgium’s consumer centre alone fielding 1,140 through late June 2021. EU authorities have secured similar pledges from e-commerce marketplaces AliExpress and Wish. Merchants in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region brought in US$799.6 million or 17.3 per cent of Shopify’s revenue in 2021. The EC said EU competition authorities will also work with Canada’s Competition Bureau to deal with traders outside the bloc.