Introduction
In General
In Austria, the rules that generally apply to secure offline transactions also apply to online transactions. Any specific legal and regulatory framework, however, serves the purpose of providing clarification or specific rules when technical peculiarities require such clarification.
E-Commerce Act
The E-Commerce Act, implementing the European Union (EU) E-Commerce Directive, established a framework for commercial use of the Internet and provides legal security and protection for Internet users.
It refers to both business-to-business transactions and business-to-consumer transactions. It does not refer to fiscal issues, data protection, or cartel law.
Distance Selling Act
The Distance Selling Act (Fernabsatzgesetz) implements the EU Distance Selling Directive on long-distance transactions by amending the Consumer Protection Act (Konsumentenschutzgesetz) regarding consumer protection in the conclusion of long-distance contracts.
The Distance Selling Act is supplemented by the Act on Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services, implementing Council Directive 2002/65 concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services.
Act on Digital Signatures
The Digital Signatures Act (Signaturgesetz) transposes the EU’s E-Signatures Directive into Austrian law and provides the legal framework for the use of digital signatures and the provision of certification services.
