Internet use normally increases product liability by escalating product use by nontraditional users. Nontraditional product users are more likely to be harmed by products than traditional product users, who have benefited from formal or informal use and training. Such harm may translate to product-liability and toxic-tort litigation against manufacturers and distributors. However, proper Internet use can result in more favorable outcomes for manufacturers and distributors who face such litigation.
Many companies benefit from selling products via e-commerce, which involves the elimination of traditional storefronts in favor of lower-cost virtual storefronts. Such virtual storefronts allow product manufacturers and distributors to offer products to nontraditional market segments, including buyers who reside in communities that have little or no personal experience with a product.
