Algorithmic Injustice in E-Contract Termination: Islamic and Indonesian Legal Analysis of Shopee’s Return Policy
Abstract
Algorithmic automation in digital transactions often overlooks substantive justice, as evidenced by the automatic approval feature within Shopee’s return and refund policy, which triggers systemic injustice for sellers. This research aims to analyze the unilateral termination of contracts by algorithmic systems through the perspectives of Islamic Law and Indonesian Positive Law. Employed a socio legal research method with case, statutory, and comparative approaches, this study discussed the anomaly of termination as a system act. The results indicated the auto-acc feature created technical coercion that paralyzes the seller’s verification rights and violates the principle of An Tarāḍin, thereby triggering buyer moral hazard risks. Theoretically, this research contributes through the integration of Contractual Balance Theory and Maqāṣid al-Mu‘āmalah to identify bargaining position distortions in algorithmic termination. The research conclusion affirmed that the platform’s absolute discretion violates the doctrine of good faith and property protection (ḥifẓ al-māl). It is recommended to establish a digital economic law harmonization model that mandates human oversight, and compensation mechanisms (ta‘wīḍ) to ensure the integrity of a substantively fair e-commerce ecosystem.
Abstrak
Otomatisasi algoritma dalam transaksi digital sering kali mengabaikan keadilan substantif, sebagaimana terlihat pada fitur persetujuan otomatis pada fitur pengembalian barang/dana Shopee yang memicu ketidakadilan sistemik bagi penjual. Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis terminasi akad sepihak oleh sistem algoritma melalui perspektif Hukum Islam dan Hukum Positif Indonesia. Menggunakan metode penelitian hukum sosiologis dengan pendekatan kasus, perundang-undangan, dan perbandingan, penelitian ini membedah anomali terminasi sebagai tindakan sistem (system-act). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa fitur auto-acc menciptakan paksaan teknis (technical coercion) yang melumpuhkan hak verifikasi penjual dan mencederai asas ‘An Tarāḍin, sehingga memicu risiko moral hazard pembeli. Secara teoretis, penelitian ini memberikan kontribusi melalui integrasi Teori Keseimbangan Kontraktual dan Maqāṣid al-Mu‘āmalah untuk mengidentifikasi distorsi posisi tawar dalam terminasi algoritmik. Simpulan penelitian menegaskan bahwa diskresi absolut platform melanggar doktrin itikad baik dan perlindungan harta (ḥifẓ al-māl). Direkomendasikan adanya model harmonisasi hukum ekonomi digital yang mewajibkan pengawasan manusia (human oversight) dan mekanisme kompensasi (ta‘wīḍ) guna menjamin integritas ekosistem e-commerce yang berkeadilan substantif.
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