Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

The Nightmare Of Dream Advertising, Dustin Marlan

William & Mary Law Review

Advertisers are attempting to market to us while we dream. This is not science fiction, but rather a troubling new reality. Using a technique dubbed “targeted dream incubation” (TDI), companies have begun inserting commercial messages into people’s dreams. Roughly, TDI works by: (1) creating an association during waking life using sensory cues (for example, a pairing of sounds, visuals, or scents); and (2) as the subject is drifting off to sleep, the association is again introduced with the goal of triggering related dreams with related subject matter. Based on a 2021 American Marketing Association survey, 77 percent of 400 companies …

Consumer Uncertainty In Trademark Law: An Experimental Investigation, Barton Beebe, Roy Germano, Christopher Jon Sprigman, Joel H. Steckel

Emory Law Journal

Nearly every important issue in trademark litigation turns on the question of what consumers in the marketplace believe to be true. To address this question, litigants frequently present consumer survey evidence, which can play a decisive role in driving the outcomes of trademark disputes. But trademark survey evidence has often proven to be highly controversial, not least because it has sometimes been perceived as open to expert manipulation. In this Article, we identify and present empirical evidence of a fundamental problem with trademark survey evidence: while the leading survey formats in trademark law test for whether consumers hold a particular …

An American Dream Gone Green: A Discussion Of Existing Environmental Marketing Regulations And The Need For Stricter Legislation, Christian Robledo

Touro Law Review

Many consumers seek to purchase environmentally friendly products and companies have responded with “green” marketing, which includes claims of environmental benefits and sustainability with respect to what is being sold. Unfortunately, these claims often overstate their impact on the environment or are presented in a way to mislead consumers. This practice is referred to as greenwashing. Not only does it harm consumers, but it potentially harms the reputation of truly eco-friendly companies that are viewed with skepticism or outright distrust due to the deceitfulness of companies that do engage in greenwashing.

This Note discusses the lack of legislation that currently …

Taking It With You: Platform Barriers To Entry And The Limits Of Data Portability, Gabriel Nicholas

Michigan Technology Law Review

Policymakers are faced with a vexing problem: how to increase competition in a tech sector dominated by a few giants. One answer proposed and adopted by regulators in the United States and abroad is to require large platforms to allow consumers to move their data from one platform to another, an approach known as data portability. Facebook, Google, Apple, and other major tech companies have enthusiastically supported data portability through their own technical and political initiatives. Today, data portability has taken hold as one of the go-to solutions to address the tech industry’s competition concerns.

This Article argues that despite …

The Rental Crisis Will Not Be Televised: The Case For Protecting Tenants Under Consumer Protection Regimes, Eric Sirota

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The Foreclosure Crisis of the 2000s has likely hurt renters more than homeowners. Incongruously, however, consumer enforcement agencies have been far more zealous in protecting mortgagors than tenants. This Article explores the under-protection of tenants as a class of consumers, particularly in a “commoditized” rental market, and examines how consumer enforcement agencies can more zealously incorporate tenant-protection into their mandates.

Much of the prior literature on the legal protections afforded tenants was published in the wake of the consumer rights revolution of the 1970s. This Article is the first to carefully reexamine, in the context of the modern rental market, …

Effect Of The Consumer's Choice To Revoke The Contract On Determining The Moment At Which The Contract Is Concluded, Yousef Mohammed Shandi

UAEU Law Journal

The choice to revoke the conclusion of a contract is one of the most important guarantees of a complete consent in contracts. It allows consumers a chance to contemplate and consider carefully the contract before they announce their final acceptance thereof. Despite the paramount significance of this choice in relation to the consumer, it raises a complex legal problem regarding the determination of the moment of concluding the consumer contract, which is associated with the choice to revocation. A legal school deems that such a choice takes effect immediately following the exchange of consent even before the period of revocation …

The Efficacy Of The Law Protecting The Jordanian Consumer An Analytical Study Of The Law And Its Means Of Enforcement, Firas Kasassbeh, Moayyad Mohamed Al Qudat

UAEU Law Journal

The Jordanian government has shown some hesitation in issuing an Act for the protecting of consumers against the unfair practices that might be committed by suppliers. Yet, it has, under the pressure of many private organizations and academics, drafted a proposed Bill to this end, which needs many legislative steps before becoming binding Act.

This study provides an analytical and critical account of the effectiveness of this Bill through exploring two of its main areas. The first area involves the scope of the protection provided by the Bill (the proposed Act), while the second, and covers the techniques adopted for …

The Guarantees Of Consumer Free Consent In Contracts Concluded Remotely: A Comparative Study, Dr.Adnan Sarhan

UAEU Law Journal

resulted from his ignorance weakness arising because of the complication of goods and services that makes their use and risks are not to be realized easily by consumers, but also extends in the recent times to include misleading advertising techniques, the brilliant development in marketing in addition to the coercive nature of recent tools that are used in bargain and contracting. One of these tools is the use of distance selling contacts in addition to the common use of electronic contracts, since a consumer is surprised by a person negotiate and contract by telephone or internet and he does not …

Smart Cars, Telematics And Repair, Leah Chan Grinvald, Ofer Tur-Sinai

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Recent years have seen a surge in the use of automotive telematics. Telematics is the integration of telecommunications and informatics technologies. Using telematics in cars enables transmission of data communications between the car and other systems or devices. This opens up a wide range of possibilities, including the prospect of conducting remote diagnostics based on real-time access to the vehicle. Yet, as with any new technology, alongside its potential benefits, the use of automotive telematics could also have potential downsides. This Article explores the significant negative impact that the growing reliance on telematics systems could have on competition in the …

Got Bounded Rationality And Political Gridlock? There's A Loan Disclosure Hack For That, Debra Pogrund Stark, Jessica M. Choplin, Andrew Pizor

Cleveland State Law Review

For decades, Congress has primarily relied upon the use of mandatory disclosure forms to protect consumers from entering into ill-advised loans by disclosing the terms of an offered loan before the borrower enters into it. This policy is not likely to change any time soon due to congressional gridlock. Frustratingly, despite improvements, consumers still have difficulties using these forms to obtain the key information and data they need to make wise decisions. These disclosures contain a great deal of information, and assume that consumers are capable of reading, understanding, and using all of it. Contrary to this assumption, research on …

The Friday Night “Who Is Driving?” Debate Will Soon Come To An End: How Autonomous Vehicles Are Changing Our Lives And Societal Norms, Nicholas Calabria

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Trimming The Fat: The Gdpr As A Model For Cleaning Up Our Data Usage, Kassandra Polanco

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

A New Age Of Evolution: Protecting The Consumer’S Moral And Legal Right To Know Through The Clear And Transparent Labeling Of All Genetically Modified Foods, Halie M. Evans

Journal of Law and Health

The United States government, until recently, did not require the labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). On July 29, 2016, President Barack Obama signed into law the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS). This law directs the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create regulations that require manufacturers to disclose certain bioengineered products on food labels. On December 20, 2018, the USDA released the final regulations for the NBFDS, which requires food manufactures, importers, and certain retailers to ensure bioengineered foods are appropriately disclosed. The final regulations include provisions that will leave the majority of GMO derived foods unlabeled. …

Time For Change: Stepping Up The Fda's Regulation Of Dietary Supplements To Promote Consumer Safety And Awareness, George Kennett

Journal of Law and Health

People are often looking for that quick fix when it comes to their health. With dietary supplements so readily available on the market, the public assume that they have been through rigorous testing. Dietary supplements are not tested as much as consumers believe. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not initiate the same type of testing and analysis for supplements as it does for food, drink and medication. Given that people are now choosing supplemental meal replacements and the like, as opposed to whole foods, regulations drastically need to be stepped up in an effort to emphasise public safety. …

Deceptively Simple: The Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Margaret E. Rushing

Arkansas Law Review

In the 2017 legislative session, the Arkansas General Assembly significantly changed the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (“ADTPA”). These changes now prohibit private class actions under the ADTPA and require plaintiffs to prove additional elements of reliance and actual financial loss when bringing a claim. The changes appear to limit the ability of a consumer to bring a private action under the ADPTA. With these changes, Arkansas joins a minority of jurisdictions with deceptive trade practices acts that increase a plaintiff’s burden and restrict private class actions.

A Post-Spokeo Taxonomy Of Intangible Harms, Jackson Erpenbach

Michigan Law Review

Article III standing is a central requirement in federal litigation. The Supreme Court’s Spokeo decision marked a significant development in the doctrine, dividing the concrete injury-in-fact requirement into two subsets: tangible and intangible harms. While tangible harms are easily cognizable, plaintiffs alleging intangible harms can face a perilous path to court. This raises particular concern for the system of federal consumer protection laws where enforcement relies on consumers vindicating their own rights by filing suit when companies violate federal law. These plaintiffs must often allege intangible harms arising out of their statutorily guaranteed rights. This Note demonstrates that Spokeo’s …

Digital Market Perfection, Rory Van Loo

Michigan Law Review

Google’s, Apple’s, and other companies’ automated assistants are increasingly serving as personal shoppers. These digital intermediaries will save us time by purchasing grocery items, transferring bank accounts, and subscribing to cable. The literature has only begun to hint at the paradigm shift needed to navigate the legal risks and rewards of this coming era of automated commerce. This Article begins to fill that gap by surveying legal battles related to contract exit, data access, and deception that will determine the extent to which automated assistants are able to help consumers to search and switch, potentially bringing tremendous societal benefits. Whereas …

When Good Policies Go Bad: Controlling Risks Posed By Flawed Incentive-Based Compensation, Nicole Vincent

Cleveland State Law Review

The recent Wells Fargo scandal revealed the harm that can result from flawed incentive-based compensation arrangements. Large financial institutions have both a legal and an ethical obligation to ensure that any incentive-based compensation arrangements that are in place will not encourage risky or fraudulent employee behavior. The continued existence of inappropriate and poorly structured arrangements demonstrates that existing regulations are inadequate to ensure compliance and protect consumers. Regulations should include increased penalties and should more evenly distribute the burden of oversight and compliance between the public and private sectors. In addition to regulatory reform, the government should prosecute culpable high-level …

Consumer Class Actions: Who Are The Real Winners?, Edward F. Sherman

Maine Law Review

The class action is one of the most controversial procedural devices in the American legal system. In the years since an expanded class action rule was adopted in 1966, class actions have grown in scope and number, and suits by consumers have accounted for an increasing share of class actions suits. By allowing individuals to sue not only for themselves, but also on behalf of others similarly situated, the class action “empowers plaintiffs to bring cases that otherwise either would not be possible or would only be possible in a very different form.” Business critics see this as enabling “lawyers …

Do We Need Help Using Yelp? Regulating Advertising On Mediated Reputation Systems, David Adam Friedman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Yelp, Angie’s List, Avvo, and similar entities enable consumers to access an incredibly useful trove of information about peer experiences with businesses and their goods and services. These “mediated reputation systems,” gatherers and disseminators of consumer peer opinions, are more trusted by consumers than traditional commercial channels. They are omnipresent, carried everywhere on mobile devices, and used by consumers ready to transact.

Though this information is valuable, a troubling conflict emerges in its presentation. Most of these reputation platforms rely heavily on advertising sales to support their business models. This reliance compels these entities to display persuasive advertising right along …

“Hello…It’S Me. [Please Don’T Sue Me!]” Examining The Fcc’S Overbroad Calling Regulations Under The Tcpa, Marissa A. Potts

Brooklyn Law Review

Americans have received unwanted telemarketing calls for decades. In response to a rapid increase in pre-recorded calls made using autodialer devices, Congress enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in 1992. The TCPA imposes restrictions on calls made to consumers’ residences and wireless phones using autodialer devices, even if they are not telemarketing calls. Congress appointed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prescribe rules and regulations to enforce the TCPA. In 2015, the FCC released an order that defined autodialer more broadly under the statute. Consequently, devices that have the potential to become autodialers in the future, even if they …

Consumer Preferences For Performance Defaults, Franklin G. Snyder, Ann M. Mirabito

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

Commercial law in the United States is designed to facilitate private transactions, and thus to enforce the presumed intent of the parties, who generally are free to negotiate the terms they choose. But these contracts inevitably have gaps, both because the parties cannot anticipate every situation that might arise from their relationship, and because negotiation is not costless. When courts are faced with these gaps in a litigation context, they supply default terms to fill them. These defaults usually are set to reflect what courts believe similar parties would have agreed to if they had addressed the issue. These “majoritarian” …

Getting A Handle On Growler Laws, Adam Star

Seattle University Law Review

This Note will begin with a brief general history of growlers in the United States and the benefits they provide to consumers, retailers, and small craft brewers. Part II will provide an overview of national alcohol distribution regulation and how the present growler law exists within this larger framework. To complete the necessary background information, Part III will provide context to the competitive landscape by way of an examination of the craft beer industry’s explosive growth. The substantive portion of the Note will follow in Part IV, beginning with an outline of the various key types of growler restrictions such …

A Statutory Override Of An “As Is” Sale: A Historical Appraisal And Analysis Of The Ucc, Magnuson-Moss, And State Lemon Laws, Richard J. Hunter Jr.

University of Massachusetts Law Review

This Essay considers the common law view that the sale of a used car is essentially “as is,” in light of state lemon laws, which attempt to protect the interests of used car buyers under certain circumstances. The Essay highlights provisions of the New Jersey Lemon Law, which provide specific vehicle and parts coverage, warranty protections, and buyer rights in case the automobile is deemed a lemon, arguing that other states should consider adopting similar legislation in the name of consumer protection. The Essay describes the essence of a traditional “as is” sale, and emphasizes the fact that the “as …

Regulating Electricity-Market Manipulation: A Proposal For A New Regulatory Regime To Proscribe All Forms Of Manipulation, Matthew Evans

Michigan Law Review

Congress broadly authorized the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) to protect consumers of electricity from all forms of manipulation in the electricity markets, but the regulations that FERC passed are not nearly so expansive. As written, FERC’s Anti-Manipulation Rule covers only instances of manipulation involving fraud. This narrow scope is problematic, however, because electricity markets can also be manipulated by nonfraudulent activity. Thus, in order to reach all forms of manipulation, FERC is forced to interpret and apply its Anti-Manipulation Rule in ways that strain the plain language and accepted understanding of the rule and therefore constitute an improper extension …

Meaningful Involvement In Collections: Should Ethics Or The Fdcpa Govern?, Jeffrey S. Peters

Pace Law Review

This Note will explain and analyze the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and its case law. It will also discuss the interplay between the FDCPA case law and its ethical overtones. To understand the basis of this issue, Part II of this Note will begin by briefly developing the history and background of the FDCPA and discuss specific sections of the law designed to protect debtors from abusive debt collection practices. Notably, these sections relate to the prevention of improper practices for misleading debtors, and are the focus of the lawsuits that this Note will discuss. Accordingly, Part III …

The Volcker Rule, Banking Entities, And Covered Funds Activities, Jeffrey Koh, Kyle Gaughan

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

With the passage of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, Congress instituted a host of new laws attempting to protect consumers from the types of risky trading that led to the 2008 economic crisis. However, many of the new rules and regulations, including the Volcker Rule, are yet to fully take effect. Among other restrictions, the Volcker Rule attempts to curtail risky trading by limiting banking entity investments in private equity and venture capital funds. As the Volcker Rule nears its implementation deadline, banking entities are concerned that they will face substantial losses in having to comply with the Volcker Rule by …

A Comprehensive Economic And Legal Analysis Of Tying Arrangements, Guy Sagi

Seattle University Law Review

The law of tying arrangements as it stands does not correspond with modern economic analysis. Therefore, and because tying arrangements are so widely common, the law is expected to change and extensive academic writing is currently attempting to guide its way. In tying arrangements, monopolistic firms coerce consumers to buy additional products or services beyond what they intended to purchase. This pressure can be applied because a consumer in a monopolistic market does not have the alternative to buy the product or service from a competing firm. In the absence of such choice, the monopolistic firm can allegedly force the …

Opening Schumer’S Box: The Empirical Foundations Of Modern Consumer Finance Disclosure Law, Hosea H. Harvey

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article explores the fundamental failure of Congress’ twenty-five-year quest to utilize disclosure as the primary tool to both regulate credit card issuers and educate consumers. From inception until present, reforms to this disclosure regime, even when premised on judgment and decision-making behavioralism, were nomothetic in orientation and ignored clear differences in population behavior and the heterogeniety of consumers. Current law prohibits credit card issuers from acquiring consumer socio-demographic data and prevents issuers and regulators from using market and policy experimentation to enhance disclosure’s efficacy. To explain why this regime was structured this way and why it must change, this …

A Disclosure-Focused Approach To Compelled Commercial Speech, Andrew C. Budzinski

Michigan Law Review

In 2010, the Food and Drug Administration passed a rule revising compelled disclaimers on tobacco products pursuant to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The rule required that tobacco warnings include something new: all tobacco products now had to bear one of nine graphic images to accompany the text. Tobacco companies filed suit contesting the constitutionality of the rule, arguing that the government violated their right to free commercial speech by compelling disclosure of the graphic content. Yet First Amendment jurisprudence lacks a doctrinally consistent standard for reviewing such compelled disclosures. Courts’ analyses typically depend on whether the …