The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has ruled that businesses are responsible for monitoring online services offered under their name, including identifying and addressing “mirror” sites. This decision shifts the responsibility away from consumers to verify the authenticity of websites.

The ruling came about after a Moscow resident sought to repair her all-in-one computer and encountered what she believed to be the company’s service center online. The woman arranged for a courier to pick up her computer, but the company later denied receiving the device and claimed the service agreement was fraudulent.

Lower courts initially sided with the repair company, deeming the contract invalid. However, the Supreme Court emphasized that lower courts must consider all available evidence and avoid a formalistic approach. They highlighted the fact that the woman found the service center online through a website with a similar name to both her computer brand and the defendant company.

The Supreme Court pointed out that the courts failed to investigate the company’s ownership of the website used to solicit the repair service and to analyze the communications between the woman and the service center. The court stated that because the service offer was made on behalf of a company with the same name as the defendant, the company should be responsible for proving they did not own the website or phone number and that the service center’s details did not match their own.

The Supreme Court concluded that the lower courts wrongly placed the burden of proof on the plaintiff, who lacks the means to identify fraudulent service offers made in the defendant’s name. The case has been sent back to the court of first instance for a new trial.