EU says Shopify to improve platform to make online shopping safer

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Friday e-commerce business Shopify has committed to put in place improvements aimed at making online shopping safer for customers, according to a statement.

Shopify committed to change the design of its templates to include fields for company information and contact details, to provide clear guidance to traders on relevant EU consumer law and to provide company details about any EU trader when requested by any national consumer authority.

The company also agreed to take down web shops in breach of EU consumer law, as well as to provide the relevant company details.

"Almost 75% of internet users in the EU are shopping online. This is a huge market for scammers and rogue traders to exploit, and they will continue to do so unless we act," EU Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders said.

"We welcome Shopify's commitment to ensure that traders operating on its platform are aware of their responsibilities under EU law, and are taken down if they break the rules," he said.

(Reporting by Marine Strauss @StraussMarine; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)