Consumer Remedies for Misleading or Deceptive Marketing Practices: Reform of the Law in Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper aims to set out theoretical justifications for legislative reform in Hong Kong to protect consumers from misleading or deceptive marketing practices and to provide the outlines of a theoretical framework to delineate the proper scope of such protection. The Hong Kong Consumer Council has put forward proposals recommending a general statutory prohibition on unfair marketing practices, including misleading or deceptive acts or omissions, giving consumers the right to seek remedies for losses suffered therefrom. It is argued in this paper that such a statutory provision is justified through an examination of the rationales for regulation. The theoretical justifications for consumer protection are important not only for supporting the argument for law reform in Hong Kong, but are also important in ascertaining the proper scope of any new statutory provisions. Accordingly this paper also examines the potential reach of a general statutory prohibition on misleading marketing practices.