Consumer Protection Standards Research Articles

FINANCIAL LAW: POLICY FRAMEWORKS FOR REGULATING FINTECH INNOVATIONS: ENSURING CONSUMER PROTECTION WHILE FOSTERING INNOVATION

The proliferation of fintech innovations has necessitated the development of comprehensive regulatory frameworks to uphold consumer protection standards while fostering an environment conducive to technological advancement. This paper delves into the intricate policy landscapes governing fintech innovations, with a primary focus on striking a delicate equilibrium between safeguarding consumer interests and nurturing innovation. By conducting an in-depth analysis of global regulatory approaches, including variations across jurisdictions and the pivotal roles of governmental bodies, this study explores pivotal measures aimed at fortifying consumer protection. These measures encompass a spectrum of strategies, ranging from stringent disclosure requirements and robust privacy safeguards to the implementation of anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) protocols. Furthermore, the study examines mechanisms for resolving consumer complaints and ensuring accountability within the fintech sector. Moreover, the paper investigates various avenues for fostering innovation within the regulatory framework, such as the establishment of regulatory sandboxes and the promotion of collaborative endeavors between regulatory authorities and industry stakeholders. Through the examination of pertinent case studies, this study highlights both successful regulatory interventions and challenges encountered in regulating fintech innovations. These insights culminate in a series of actionable recommendations tailored for policymakers, aimed at navigating the evolving landscape of fintech regulation. Additionally, the paper offers projections on future trends in fintech regulation, thereby equipping policymakers with the necessary foresight to adapt to the dynamic nature of the fintech ecosystem.
 Keywords: Financial Law, Policy, Frameworks, Fintech Innovations, Consumer Protection, Fostering Innovation.

Uwagi o implementacji dyrektywy towarowej do polskiego porządku prawnego

The purpose of the article is to examine the effects of the entry into force of the Act of 4 November 2022 amending the Consumer Rights Act, the Civil Code Act and the Private International Law Act, being a result of the implementation of the so-called Sale of Goods Directive. The author analyses the issue using the formal-dogmatic method, focusing on the impact of the changes introduced by the above-mentioned Act on the standard of consumer protection and the manner in which entrepreneurs conduct their business activities. Moreover, he identifies the most significant problems related to the implementation of the Sale of Goods Directive into the Polish legal order, drawing attention to the legal and economic consequences of the choices and solutions adopted by the Polish legislator. He also assesses both the content of the Act in question and the content of the Sale of Goods Directive, formulating de lege ferenda conclusions.

Circulation of Expired Products in Parcels: A Study of Consumer Protection

This study aims to examine and analyze the principles and legal forms of consumer protection against the circulation of expired products in parcels. This study uses normative legal research with the statute and comparative approaches. The collected legal material is then qualitatively analyzed to describe the problem and answer study purposes. The results show that the principles of consumer protection laws have become the primary focus of the global community. Furthermore, the principles and legal forms of consumer protection against the circulation of expired products in parcels encompass comprehensive policy-making, dispute resolution systems, information transparency, and consumer privacy protection. In addition, enhancing consumers’ knowledge, skills, and self-confidence in utilizing their rights to obtain compensation is a priority. Compliance by businesses with laws and responsive business practices also constitutes the principles and legal forms of consumer protection. Therefore, it is recommended that governments increase supervision against the circulation of expired products through stricter regulations and effective law enforcement while providing support for vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers. Businesses must ensure compliance with laws, regulations, and international consumer protection standards and implement clear and accessible product return, compensation, and replacement policies. Society, including consumers, must actively advocate and acquire the knowledge and skills to identify and avoid expired products in parcels. Finally, the collaboration between universities, businesses, and governments in researching and developing consumer protection policies related to expired products in parcels should be enhanced to generate innovative and effective solutions in the future.

DISPARITY IN QUALITY ASSURANCE - A CATALOGUE OF CHOICES OR IMBALANCE OF TRADE

‘Big or Small, Consumer Rights is for All!’With time immemorial, cross-border trade is something which nations have always relied upon for strengthening economic, political and cultural alliances and for the expansion of their territory in the quest of becoming global power. India was at the receiving end of this ambition of nations, which led to it being ruled by foreign powers who invaded India under the garb of trading with it. Post-independence, has India actually managed to free itself from the clutches of these dominating trans-national business powers, is still a question. When India opened its economy for foreign trade and became a signatory to WTO, it amended many of its restrictive frameworks and converted them into regulatory ones. But what India failed to do was to increase its quality assurance norms as per the western standards. This made it easy for the western countries to dump their products in India, but the same was not reciprocated. This was because the standard of quality of the products (with respect to both perishable and non-perishable goods) demanded by the western countries were much higher than what we accepted here in India. This led us to accept even the sub-standard products from these countries. But when it came to us exporting our products to them, they were extremely vigilant about the quality of the products that they accepted. This led to the imbalance of trade resulting in hardships being caused to Indian economy hereby leading to the weakening of Indian currency. The changes in consumer law were adopted to bring the consumer protection standards at par with the internationally recognized standards. The intention of doing so is to achieve the major goals of universally applicable minimum standard of consumer protection and to abolish the obstacles in cross-border trade, but the imbalance created has ultimately burdened the consumer. This has defeated the very objective of consumer protection laws. The authors in this paper wish to elaborate upon the reasons for the negative balance of payments and wish to suggest the changes in the trade policies which will ultimately prove to be beneficial for the consumers of our country.

Should Indonesia Block ChatGPT?

The development of ChatGPT has raised so many concerns that several countries have banned it in their respective countries. Italy was the first Western country to deny it, albeit temporarily. Italy’s action has prompted OpenAI to improve the ChatGPT technology to ensure that it meets the standards of consumer protection, data protection, privacy, and public security standards, as set out in the General Data Protection Regulation for European Union countries. This move by Italy raises the question of whether Indonesia should also block ChatGPT. The authors answer this question by examining data on Internet usage, its penetration of Indonesian citizens, and recent developments in regulatory provision and implementation. From the bibliographic research, the authors state that Indonesia is in a different bargaining position than Italy, even though the number of Internet users in Indonesia is far greater. The authors conclude that Indonesia will only benefit from blocking ChatGPT by first improving digital literacy levels and building regional cooperation. Keywords: artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, personal data protection.

Financial consumer protection standards and frameworks for digital financial services: Landscape report

Financial consumer protection standards and frameworks for digital financial services: Landscape report

International Standards as a Conceptual Framework for Improving Consumer Protection

Issues in the interpretation of the international standards on individual consumer protection are considered. A functional consumer protection framework is a key aspect of economic security of states and regional economic alliances. Consumer protection is also evolving to respond to the new threats and challenges of the global economic crisis. Implementing the international standards on consumer protection in the national legal framework and regional treaties are viewed as a matter of urgency. From a review of a selection of international legal instruments, the author identifi es several systemic trends in the evolution of consumer protection standards, including an emphasis on the environment and sustainable consumption, and facilitation of e-trade as a mechanism for strengthening the economic security of states and regions.

Intermediary Liability in the EU Digital Common Market

The European Union is committed to its transition towards climate neutrality and digital leadership, and synergies to be created in the EU Digital Common Market provide ample opportunities to achieve these goals: While from an economic perspective, the maximisation of market opportunities and the creation of a globally competitive digital economy are desirable, the transition must be technologically and ecologically sustainable and additionally compatible with established EU consumer protection standards. The latter is especially relevant in terms of the liability of online intermediaries for digital services, taking into account the rapid transformation of the digital architecture and the emergence of new major digital platforms for sales and services. This chapter, which is based on the Bachelor thesis handed in by Sander Sagar and supervised by Thomas Hoffmann for graduation at TalTech Law School, Tallinn University of Technology, intends to elucidate how the transition towards a common digital market is legally established in practice using as an example the adoption of the intermediaries’ liability regime to a digitalized environment from the E-Commerce Directive to the Digital Services Act.

Regulating loot boxes as gambling? Towards a combined legal and self-regulatory consumer protection approach

Loot boxes represent a popular and prevalent contemporary monetization innovation in video games that offers the purchasing player-consumer, who always pays a set amount of money for each attempt, the opportunity to obtain randomized virtual rewards of uncertain in-game and real-world value. Loot boxes have been, and continue to be, scrutinized by regulators and policymakers because their randomized nature is akin to gambling. The regulation of loot boxes is a current and challenging international public policy and consumer protection issue. This article reviews the psychology literature on the potential harms of loot boxes and applies the behavioural economics literature in order to identify the potentially abusive nature and harmful effects of loot boxes, which justify their regulation. This article calls on the industry to publish loot box spending data and cooperate with independent empirical research to avoid overregulation. By examining existing regulation, this article identifies the flaws of the ‘regulate-loot-boxes-as-gambling’ approach and critiques the alternative consumer protection approach of adopting ethical game design, such as disclosing the probabilities of obtaining randomized rewards and setting maximum spending limits. This article recommends a combined legal and self-regulatory approach: the law should set out a minimum acceptable standard of consumer protection and industry self-regulation should strive to achieve an even higher standard.

Consumer Credit Advertising in the United Kingdom and Italy: the Shortcomings of the Consumer Credit Directive and Scope for Review

This contribution examines comparatively the national laws of the United Kingdom and Italy transposing the provisions of consumer credit advertising as set by the Consumer Credit Directive on account of its review. The Consumer Credit Directive is a full harmonization measure that aims to create a single market in the area of consumer credit with a high level of consumer protection. At the same time, the provision on consumer credit advertising offers a legal choice to Member States as regards its transposition into domestic law. The United Kingdom and Italy have opted for different legal choices. The ultimate question is the extent to which the Directive achieves its goal of creating an internal market and an adequate standard of consumer protection in advertising credit services to consumers. A comparison of the two jurisdictions suggests otherwise. This is due to a combination of the limited scope of the Consumer Credit Directive, its full harmonisation character, and the transposition of the legal choice explicitly left to Member States by the law. Consumer credit, advertising, EU Law, national transposition, legal choice, comparative law, full harmonization, review

Delays, cancellations and compensation: Why are air passengers still finding it difficult to enforce their EU rights under Regulation 261/2004?

The aim of this article is to identify why air passengers travelling in the European Union, endowed with the highest standard of consumer protection in the world under EU law, are still being denied their rights and finding it difficult to seek effective legal redress. This article argues that the principal cause of airlines’ non-compliance is the poor regulatory design of Regulation 261/2004, which has been compounded by inadequate application by the Member States and regulatory resistance by the airlines. This contribution will then demonstrate how the European Commission (‘Commission’) has responded through the adoption of both deterrence and compliance-based enforcement strategies, and maps out the mechanisms, tools and actors harnessed by the Commission to create a complex hybrid, multi-layered system of enforcement. The article reveals that enforcement gaps persist and argues that the effectiveness of the regime is unlikely to improve without legislative reform.

International Consumer Law: What Is It All About?

Increasing effort has been invested in the internationalization of consumer law. Some of the recent huge global consumer law–related scandals (e.g., Dieselgate, Facebook) demonstrate the rising relevance of and the need for international consumer law. This paper argues that the efforts towards the internationalization of consumer law should focus, first, on the establishment of globally accepted minimum standards of consumer protection (as it has been done through the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection) and, second, on the development and facilitation of cooperation as a necessary prerequisite for the efficient protection of consumers (as it has been initiated by the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network), rather than on the harmonization of substantive consumer law. This is not only because coordination among diverse countries in the area of consumer protection is easier to achieve in practice through a policy approach rather than substantive harmonization, but also because coordination in practice is an instrument that, as it stands now, is capable of providing a higher level of protection to consumers than substantive harmonization.

From Fragmentation to Harmonization of Consumer Law: The Perspective of China

Since the appearance of consumer law, its norm production landscape has been highly diversified and fragmented among the countries. The features of “lawlessness in some sectors” and “the lack of efficiency and effectiveness of national legal systems” give rise to the proliferation of norm producing originated by other bodies such as international organizations, industries, traders and even hybrid entities composing the public, the private and the civil society. There are many variations and differences in consumer law and policy between the Global North and the Global South. In recent years, harmonization of standards, codes of conduct and good practices have already taken place through international organizations and global businesses. In relation to harmonization of consumer laws among different countries, there have been skeptical views regarding such feasibility taking into account varying levels of institutional development. Thomas Bernauer explains “variation of consumer protection standards across countries may be a source of trade disputes.” Starting from the past decade, harmonization of consumer law has been achieved or at least advocated at regional levels. Harmonization easily starts within a region since regional integration creates opportunities for approximation of legal infrastructures. The EU is a very successful case in harmonizing consumer laws further guaranteed by a strong judicial system. In Latin America and in Asia, harmonization projects are ongoing and similar initiatives have also been supported. Whilst acknowledging the existing fragmentation and variations of consumer law worldwide, the author highlights the converging environment of consumer protection due to challenges brought by the globalization and advocates the feasibility of the harmonization approach from the perspective of a dynamically emerging and transitional economy such as China. At the outset, it explores the underpinnings of the consumer law which is a fairly modern legal intervention. China, like other countries, has been modernizing its consumer law by adopting a human-centred, rights-centred and social values-centred approach. Then, it examines the more important role played by emerging countries, particularly in areas such as global B2C e-commerce, telecommunication, financial services and mass tourism, and examines international dialogues and cooperation with active participation by the developing countries including China. There is a need for harmonization of consumer laws in the Mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong regions. China has made some progress on its own, but achieving harmonization in the wider region presents particular challenges. The author hopes that the harmonization would be achieved not only by creating consistency of rules but also by coordinating enforcement across borders. In conclusion, the author seems optimistic for a possible universal model law, which contains the minimum legal requirements and standards of consumer protection and mechanisms to strengthen cross-border cooperation to maximize the harmonization of consumer protection worldwide.

Postanowienia Ustawy z dnia 23 marca 2017 r. o kredycie hipotecznym oraz o nadzorze nad pośrednikami kredytu hipotecznego i agentami oraz rekomendacji S Komisji Nadzoru Finansowego a zapobieganie kryzysom bankowości hipotecznej

On 23 March 2017, the Act on mortgage credit and supervision of mortgage credit intermediaries and agents was passed, which implements Directive 2014/17/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 February 2014 on credit agreements for consumers relating to residential immovable property and amending Directives 2008/48/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010. The Act on mortgage credit under examination contains consumer protection standards for mortgage banking services, which can pursue objectives and perform macro-prudential functions in the fi nancial system. The Act also provides for the supervision of mortgage intermediaries and their agents providing mortgage credit services, rightly considering that since this is a matter of macro-prudential substance and capable of having an impact on fi nancial stability, a comprehensive supervision of the activities of mortgage intermediaries and agents is justifi ed. The aim of the study is to (i) examine the provisions of the Act on mortgage credit from the perspective of its macro-prudential content; (ii) reconstruct this potentially macro-prudential content; (iii) assess the regulatory arrangements for credit intermediaries and residential immovable property agents adopted by the Act; and (iv) address the issue, relevant to the theory of fi nancial market law, of the interference between private and public law rules in terms of their macro-prudential content and macro-prudential policy. It is also intended to perform a comparison of the provisions of the Act on mortgage credit with selected recommendations of Recommendation S of the Financial Supervision in order to assess their macro-prudential nature and the appropriateness of the regulatory solutions adopted by means of an act or by means of national soft banking law to which Recommendation S belongs.

An argument for phasing out sales of cigarettes

The successes of tobacco control in some countries and locales have led to discussions of ending the tobacco epidemic, often called the ‘endgame’. In this paper, we recommend articulating the...

A VIEW ON THE UNINFORMED CONSUMERS TOWARDS QUALITY STANDARDS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE TTIP NEGOTIATIONS

Radio broadcasts, TV shows and online media make a significant contribution today-to-day consumer information and have a great impact on public opinion. Thepresent study provides an overview of the German reporting about the qualitystandards of the agri-food industry in the context of the negotiations towards a EUUSTransatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). On the basis of aguided empirical content analysis, 436 publications released via radio, TV orInternet in the period from June 2013 to December 2016 were quantitatively andqualitatively analyzed. The quantitative analysis showed that the agri-food industrywas generally of minor relevance in the coverage of TTIP, but focused mainly onquality standards. The term ‘quality and consumer protection standards‘ frequentlyappeared in the reportings with the topics such as genetic modification, use ofhormones, antibiotics or pesticides and the ‘chlorine-washed chicken‘. These arenot standards for official definition of the general food law. It was established thatall publications lacked information about specific standards. Thus, the quantitativeanalysis showed a superficial view of quality standards with only symboliccharacteristics. The results of the qualitative media analysis indicated a negativepicture of the effects of TTIP concerning the agri-food sector and its standards.Due to the complex structure of the globalised agri-food chains, the importance ofcomprehensive consumer information was highlighted. Overall, German mediafailed to provide scientifically based information. Unfortunately, they justhighlighted the possible negative changes which could be caused by TTIP.

Digital Exhaustion: New Law from the Old World

Ebooks, audio files, video clips, computer programs and other digital goods have become central to our information society and sharing community. When we acquire digital goods, we are usually prompted to accept lengthy and complex contract terms that limit our rights. Scholars and consumer protection associations are worried whether we still know what we when we click to now - apparently few of us do, according to a recent empirical study. While the study was conducted in the new world, consumer protection associations in the old world were already trying cases in German courts, asserting that consumers were mislead when they were invited to buy digital goods under contract terms that precluded any resale of digital goods. Yet, interestingly, German courts have not been sympathetic to the claims. German courts held that downloads of digital goods other than computer programs do not exhaust distribution rights, consumers cannot own digital goods they download, and even if they did, they cannot temporarily reproduce them to sell a copy without the storage medium. In this article, I provide an introduction to the practical and legal dimension of digital exhaustion; examine the statutory framework in the EU and the U.S. in comparison; analyze case law on both sides of Atlantic, including very recent decisions regarding digital goods that have not been publicized in the United States yet; and provide an international perspective on exhaustion across national borders. I then apply the relevant legal principles to a set of common factual scenarios and variations to illustrate the significance of the topic and provide concrete legal results and a well-founded policy assessment. The rules on copyright exhaustion remain very complex and divergent in the United States and the European Union. They differ in both jurisdictions, differ between software and other works, differ depending on transaction terms, differ as to whether reproduction is permissible to sell copies separate from storage media, and differ as to whether exhaustion applies internationally. No wonder that many of us do not know what we when we now. From a public policy perspective, advocates of digital exhaustion can refer to consumer expectations, public access to works, freedom of commerce and transaction privacy in favor of digital exhaustion, allowing consumers to resell copies of digital works without a need for permission from the copyright owner. Opponents can cite to the interests of copyright owners, freedom of contract principles and counterproductive disruptions that typically come with legislative changes or courts overruling established statutory interpretations. Worth noting is that German courts have so far largely rejected the concept of digital exhaustion and do not seem to be concerned about consumer confusion, despite the traditionally high standards of consumer protection in Germany. Views and findings from the German cases as well as comparative legal analysis should be considered as the topic works itself through courts in the United States and legislative reform is considered on both sides of the Atlantic.

The schemes for institutional consumer protection in the European Union

The article is based on the analysis of the legal acts, literature concerning the subject and information found in the official website of the institution of protection. The work elaborates the scheme of institutional consumer protection developed in the European Union. Selected aspects of institutional and legal consumer protection matters were discussed. The institutions directly concerned with the creation of the consumer protection standards have been pointed out. Moreover, some of the institutional schemes of consumer protection in the selected States in EU were named. The final part of the article is the conclusion that elaborates the matter of importance of institutional consumer protection in the European Union.

Consumer law in Constitution: a big mistake? The specific case of aviation in Brazil

Globalisation, alongside with the growth in trade and wealth has influenced the considerable development of consumer law over the last 50 years. In some countries, consumer rights have been embraced at the highest Constitutional level. For instance, in Brazil, consumer protection has been given a constitutional value. This constitutional value has been reinforced by the approach taken by the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil with regard to that nation’s Consumer Code (CDC). In spite of the existence of a specific federal agency with its own rules to govern civil aviation, the services rendered by airline companies are also subject to the Consumer Code. For an obscure reason, and even though logic would favor application of the Montreal Convention, Brazilian judges prefer to apply the Brazilian Consumer Code to international air service, in cases involving consumers. The conflict between the Montreal Convention and the CDC is limited to one area, which is one of the most important areas regulated by the Convention, namely the civil responsibility of the carrier. This paper demonstrates that the inclusion of consumer rights as Constitutional rights does not improve the standard of consumer protection but instead put a heavy burden on airlines and in the case of the CDC even creates legal uncertainty.

Certification Labels Versus Convenience Formats: What Drives the Market in Aquaculture Products?

AbstractA priority for the new Common Fishery Policy will be to enhance the competitiveness of EU aquaculture in compliance with high standards of consumer protection, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability. Consumer expectations in relation to food quality present new business opportunities for EU aquaculture producers who are willing to differentiate their products. In particular, new convenience formats and certification labels are likely to influence consumer choices. This study uses the choice experiment method to investigate consumer preferences and willingness to pay for new convenient formats and certification labels for oysters. Cross-sectional data were collected through a web-based consumer survey carried out in Italy in 2015. The main result of the study is that certification labels are decisively more effective than new convenient preparation formats to differentiate high-quality products. However, some heterogeneity was detected in consumer preferences.