Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

The Urgency Of Artificial Intelligence Code Of Ethics, Tundjung Herning Sitabuana, Dixon Sanjaya, Ibra Fulenzi Amri, Nethan Nethan

Indonesia Law Review

The era of artificial intelligence has become a characteristic of industrial era 5.0 which has been used in various aspects. Potential economic value of AI has driven various forms of AI innovation development. Exploration of AI tends to override negative impacts of such developments. The emergence of ethical issues with presence of AI encourages the need for a law-based approach to establishing ethical standards to protect entire Indonesian nation. Therefore, this research was conducted to examine urgency for an AI code of ethics. This paper will normatively describe data qualitatively to answer urgency and development of AI code of ethics …

The Private Cause Of Action Under Maine's Unfair Trade Practices Act, Steven A. Shaw

Maine Law Review

In 1970 the Maine Legislature passed the Unfair Trade Practices Act (UTPA) which declared unlawful any "unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce . . . ." UTPA-type statutes, now common to all states, offer several advantages. The statutes provide for a statutory award of attorneys' fees, create a private cause of action which is simple in comparison to analogous common law claims, and offer a flexible concept of unlawful conduct which many courts have shown a willingness to interpret broadly and sympathetically. Although Maine's UTPA was originally …

A Structural Approach To The Application Of Section One Of The Sherman Act To Oligopolistic Interdependence, Annmarie Levins

Maine Law Review

A central tenet of American economic thought is that markets in which many producers compete for business are preferable to those in which one or a few sellers dominate. The conventional wisdom underlying this preference is that competitive markets produce more of the goods consumers want at lower prices than do noncompetitive markets. Oligopolies are markets in which there are few sellers. Oligopolistic markets are characterized frequently by higher prices and lower outputs than competitive markets. Many sectors of the American economy are oligopolistic. For example, the American automobile industry is dominated by "the big three," General Motors, Ford, and …

The Decline Of The Privity Rule In The Maine Law Of Tort Products Liability: A Conceptual History, Dennis M. Patterson

Maine Law Review

No single issue has more preoccupied modern jurisprudential writers than the limitations of precedent on the lawmaking power of judges. Yet despite this singular concentration, no scholarly consensus has emerged regarding what those limitations are or what form they should take. This continuing theoretical dispute recently manifested itself in a series of decisions rendered by the Law Court. Last spring in the case of Adams v. Buffalo Forge Co., the Law Court reconsidered a significant aspect of two decisions of the previous term: Burke v. Hamilton Beach Division and Hurd v. Hurd. In Burke and Hurd the court decided that …

Hawkes Television, Inc. V. Maine Bureau Of Consumer Credit Protection: A New Loophole In Maine's Consumer Credit Code, Elizabeth S. Pearce

Maine Law Review

The Uniform Consumer Credit Code (U.C.C.C.), enacted in Maine in 1974, is a comprehensive regulatory measure intended to provide "an adequate volume of credit at reasonable cost under conditions fair to both consumers and creditors." Although the Code applies to all consumer credit transactions, consumer credit sales are subject to greater regulation than are consumer leases, and creditors have sought to evade such regulation by characterizing what is in essence a conditional sale as a series of short term renewable leases. The issue in Hawkes Television, Inc. v. Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection (Hawkes TV) was whether such a …

Implied Warranties Of Seaworthiness: Applying The Knowing Neglect Standard In Time Hull Insurance Policies, Derek P. Langhauser

Maine Law Review

Time hull marine insurance policies provide insurance for a definite period against damage to or loss of a vessel. Even in cases in which a ship owner expressly warrants to an insurer that a vessel will be seaworthy when the policy takes effect, and unless the insurer waives all warranties, American admiralty law implies a warranty of seaworthiness as a condition of the contract. This implied warranty increases the insurer's chance of recovering his premium by mitigating his risk that the vessel will be damaged or lost. Although American admiralty law strives to remain harmonious with English admiralty law, American …

Consumer Voice And Optimal Firm Size, W. C. Bunting

Buffalo Law Review

This Article examines the question: How can a consumer hold a seller to account in an exchange relationship when expectations have not been met? The Article’s first contribution is to recognize that, in the case of small firms, an employer business can provide a higher level of conflict resolution compared to a non-employer business. Unlike a consumer, an employer has the level of control necessary to compel an employee to remedy a product or service failure. Rather than engage in a costly personal confrontation with an employee, a dissatisfied consumer can simply request that the employer make the employee perform …

Discrimination In Contractual Performance: Theory, Evidence, And Preliminary Policy Prescriptions, Meirav Furth-Matzkin

Washington Law Review

This Article examines the often-overlooked practice of “selective performance” of standard form consumer contracts—where sellers permit employees to exercise discretion by waiving or modifying contractual terms to maintain customer satisfaction. While such flexibility can benefit consumers, it raises serious concerns about discrimination. Through both theoretical analysis and empirical evidence, this Article demonstrates that discretionary performance can disproportionately favor certain consumer groups, particularly along racial and gender lines, leading to biased and inequitable outcomes. Drawing on examples from diverse sectors, including retail, insurance, and mortgage services, the Article highlights how marginalized communities, especially Black consumers, frequently face harsher treatment and greater …

A Call For Statutory Reform: Online Marketplaces That Profit From Product Sales Should Be Held Strictly Liable As Sellers, Mark Anderson

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Today, Americans purchase roughly 16% of all consumer goods through online marketplaces such as Amazon. While traditional brick-and-mortar retailers that sell defective products are strictly liable for harm caused by those products, online marketplace retailers, which serve analogous roles in defective product sales, can often evade liability entirely. Amazon, for instance, is immune from liability for product defects in more than 60% of sales conducted on its website in almost every state. This Note explains why online marketplaces that profit from defective product sales should be strictly liable for harm those products cause, and why courts often refuse to hold …

Nil: How Third-Party Businesses Exploit Collegiate Student-Athletes With Impunity, Matthew Glogower

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

While there are numerous state NIL (name, image, and likeness) laws protecting student-athletes from economic exploitation, there is no federal law which offers universal protection, nationwide, to student-athletes. State NIL laws offer some protections for student-athletes from exploitation by colleges, universities, and boosters, but there is no protection for student-athletes who sign NIL deals with for-profit third-party businesses. These NIL deals, between the student-athlete and third-party businesses, make up the majority of NIL agreements. Section 6 of the proposed College Athlete Economic Freedom Act (“CAEFA”), titled “Enforcement Provisions,” aims to codify federal protection for student-athletes against colleges, universities, and boosters, …

I Ain't Afraid Of No Ghost…Kitchen! A New Realm Of Consumer Protection After The Inform Consumers Act, Johanna Silva

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were pervasive, sparing none from its impact. However, the restaurant industry bore an even greater change and a heavier burden than most. At the height of the pandemic, some 110,000 restaurants shut down. QR codes replaced paper menus, street parking transformed into outdoor dining sheds, and Friday night dinners at the “great spot on the corner” became takeout orders from the couch. Reopening was an unpredictable gamble for restaurant owners, fraught with tiered plans and inconsistent regulations on safe and unsafe dining practices. The desperate search for creative solutions to stay in business propelled …

Regulatory Approaches To Consumer Protection In The Financial Sector And Beyond: Toward A Smart Disclosure Regime?, Nydia Remolina Leon, Yvonne Ai-Chi Loh, David R. Hardoon

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Traditionally, consumer and data protection policies evolved from issues of consent and information disclosure. The purpose of these regulatory approaches is the protection of consumers by reducing some contracting failures, such as asymmetries of information and a lower bargaining power, especially in transactions involving complex issues such as financial products and sensitive personal data. In the past, regulators have responded to privacy and consumer protection by adopting what this paper refers to as an “imperfectly informed regime”, in which consumers do not receive full information about the risks associated with their decisions, even if they are still protected through a …

The Crypto Revolution: A Comparative Analysis Of Crypto Regulation In The United States And The European Union, Joseph Galasso

Touro Law Review

Cryptocurrency is something that many people have heard of, but few truly understand the totality of it. From its emergence to the present form, cryptocurrency has become an innovative technology which has changed the way in which we use money. As seen time and time again, where there comes new technology comes governmental authorities introducing new laws to regulate these emerging industries. The aim of these laws and regulations is to protect consumers, but it is imperative not to overregulate the industry. The goal of regulation is to allow consumers to enjoy the benefits of the industry; however, one cannot …

The Urgency Of Official Non-Halal Labels In Restaurants As A Consumer Protection In Indonesia, Yudha Pratama Putra, Nurwahidin Nurwahidin, Nur Fatwa

Journal Of Middle East and Islamic Studies

Information about non-halal labels is regulated by Law No. 33 of 2014 concerning Halal Product Guarantees. Article 93 states that products originating from prohibited materials must include non-halal details in the form of images, writing, or the name of the material with a different color in the composition of the material, for example red. In 2014, the Head of the Halal Registration and Certification Center at the BPJPH Ministry of Religion explained that his party would regulate the use of non-halal labels for non-halal products in the Minister of Religion regulations. However, until now, this plan has not been realized. …

The False Choice Between Digital Regulation And Innovation, Anu Bradford

Northwestern University Law Review

This Article challenges the common view that more stringent regulation of the digital economy inevitably compromises innovation and undermines technological progress. This view, vigorously advocated by the tech industry, has shaped the public discourse in the United States, where the country’s thriving tech economy is often associated with a staunch commitment to free markets. U.S. lawmakers have also traditionally embraced this perspective, which explains their hesitancy to regulate the tech industry to date. The European Union has chosen another path, regulating the digital economy with stringent data privacy, antitrust, content moderation, and other digital regulations designed to shape the evolution …

Information Accountability Foundation Names Two Maurer Faculty To Leadership Positions, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

he Information Accountability Foundation (IAF) has appointed two Indiana University Maurer School of Law faculty to lead the organization.

Fred H. Cate, a distinguished professor and C. Ben Dutton Professor of Law, was named the nonprofit think tank’s new executive director, while Stan Crosley, an adjunct faculty member and 1994 graduate of the Law School, was appointed chief policy strategist.

Founded in 2013, the IAF works with global regulators and industry executives to promote organizational accountability, data stewardship, and data ethics. Its mission is to help regulators and responsible companies better understand the challenges around Artificial Intelligence and data governance …

The Psychological Impacts Of Algorithmic And Ai-Driven Social Media On Teenagers: A Call To Action, Sunil Arora, Sahil Arora, John Hastings

Research & Publications

This study investigates the meta-issues surrounding social media, which, while theoretically designed to enhance social interactions and improve our social lives by facilitating the sharing of personal experiences and life events, often results in adverse psychological impacts. Our investigation reveals a paradoxical outcome: rather than fostering closer relationships and improving social lives, the algorithms and structures that underlie social media platforms inadvertently contribute to a profound psychological impact on individuals, influencing them in unforeseen ways. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced among teenagers, who are disproportionately affected by curated online personas, peer pressure to present a perfect digital image, and the …

The Contemporary Case For Consumer Expectations: Reevaluating The Evolution Of The Original Defect Standard And Its Place In Modern Products Litigation, Alyssa Clune

Fordham Law Review

The consumer expectations standard for design defect has been the subject of fierce debate since its inception. Though many see it as the test that best reflects the plaintiff-friendly goals of products liability, others critique it as vague, outdated, and ripe for jury misuse. Once the primary test for design defect under the Restatement (Second) of Torts, the consumer expectations test has since been rejected by the Restatement (Third) of Torts, and its use has been eliminated or restricted in approximately half of all states in favor of the risk-utility test. Much of the reasoning behind this growing rejection revolves …

Labeling Energy Drinks: Tackling A Monster Of A Problem, Meredith P. Mulhern, Michael S. Sinha

All Faculty Scholarship

Energy drinks first rose to popularity in the 1980s. Red Bull energy drinks were the first of its kind, opening the door to a new consumer and regulatory landscape. Since Red Bull first launched, multiple companies have released countless new energy drink products. Some energy drinks, like Red Bull, contain less than 100 mg of caffeine per 8 oz can. However, other energy drinks contain much higher amounts of caffeine. A 12 oz can of Celsius contains 200 mg of caffeine, and up until recently, Celsius offered a product called Celsius Heat, a 12 oz can containing 300 mg of …

Vertical Restraints In An Amazon World, Martin Edwards

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Vertical restraints are a peculiarity, even among the dizzying array of contracts subject to antitrust scrutiny. While current law treats vertical restraints permissively, antitrust reformers have added this permissive treatment of vertical restraints to their list of proposed reforms. The reformers have softly proposed that courts apply a presumption of illegality standard for vertical restraints— greater scrutiny than the current standard, the rule of reason. This Article argues that doing so is inadvisable.

Producers and their consumers both want the same thing: the best overall product experience for the money. The critical economic functions of vertical restraints are to enable …

The Outer Limits Of Digital Privacy Protections: A Review Of The Privacy Fallacy, Michael Conklin

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

Shifting Toward Boilerplate Regulation, Wayne R. Barnes

Faculty Scholarship

Consumer assent to standard form contracts has been creating cognitive dissonance among contracts scholars for a century. Businesses impose standard forms on consumers, who never read the terms. But consumers would not understand them if they did. And they don’t have the bargaining power to change them anyway—the terms are famously “take it or leave it.” Contracting is ideally theorized as an act of voluntary, knowing consent to all the terms agreed to. The dissonance is that consumers, although ostensibly signaling their assent to the boilerplate by signing (or clicking, or tapping their phone screen), do not in fact know …

The Liv Golf V. Pga Tour Antitrust Case As A Case Study In Federal Civil Procedure, Michael J. Dube

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

This Article uses LIV Golf Inc. v. PGA Tour, Inc., a sophisticated and headline-grabbing antitrust matter, as a means of instantiating federal civil procedure concepts. The first Part of this Article addresses the unsuccessful motion for a temporary restraining order that in many ways shaped how the litigation proceeded. The second Part examines the dance that is discovery through a focus on a drawn-out dispute regarding a single interrogatory. The final Part drills down on a more novel discovery dispute that began the path towards settlement, namely whether the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 and related common-law doctrine …

A Right To Be Left Dead, Mark Bartholomew

Journal Articles

Technology forces us to contemplate a counterpart to the right of privacy—Brandeis and Warren’s “right to be let alone”—for the age of artificial intelligence: the right to be left dead. Traditionally, it has been presumed that even if Brandeis and Warren’s right constitutes “the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men,” it does not apply to the dead. The question is whether we need a new approach at a time when technology can reanimate anyone and make them behave in a manner indistinguishable from their living presence. This Article interrogates the need for a right …

A Wrong In Search Of A Duty: Public Nuisance, Social Media And The Youth Mental Health Crisis, Charles Bachmann

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that social media companies should be held accountable for their role in the youth mental health crisis through the legal framework of public nuisance law. Drawing parallels to successful cases against tobacco and opioid companies, the author contends that social media platforms, by prioritizing profits over user well-being, contribute to widespread harm such as anxiety, depression, and suicide among youth. While acknowledging concerns about judicial overreach and the challenges of proving causation, the note advocates for judicial intervention as a necessary corrective in the absence of effective legislative action.

Velazquez Named To Sec Investor Advisory Committee, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced today (Sept. 10) six new members—including an associate professor from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law—to fill vacancies on its Investor Advisory Committee.

Prof. Alvin Velazquez, who joined the Indiana Law faculty this summer, is one of only two members of academia newly appointed to the committee. The committee advises the SEC on regulatory priorities and initiatives to protect investors and promote the integrity of the U.S. securities markets.

Amazon's Dirty Little Secret, Tanya J. Monestier

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Amazon’S Dirty Little Secret, Tanya J. Monestier

Journal Articles

You need new earbuds because one of yours just went missing. You log onto Amazon and scroll through the endless array of options. You finally select a pair “Sold by” Amazon and click “Buy Now.” Amazon promises to have the earbuds to you tomorrow. Have you ever wondered how it’s possible for Amazon to pull off this Santa-like feat? It’s because of a little-known practice called commingling. Commingling gets you your earbuds in near record time. But commingling could also result in your getting earbuds that are duds—or, worse yet, that malfunction and cause ear damage.

Commingling means that the …

Public Sector Use Of Private Sector Personal Data: Towards Best Practices, Teresa Scassa

Dalhousie Law Journal

Governments increasingly seek to use personal data sourced from the private sector for purposes that range from the generation of statistics to municipal planning. The data collected by companies is often high volume and rich in detail. Location and mobility data—which have many applications—are collected by multiple private sector actors, from cellular service providers to app developers and data brokers. Financial sector organizations amass rich data about the spending and borrowing habits of consumers. Even genetic data is collected by private sector companies. The range of available data is constantly growing as more and more data is harvested, and as …

Narzędzia Służące Do Weryfikacji Zdolności Kredytowej W Prawie Amerykańskim – Skuteczny Element Ochrony Kredytobiorców-Konsumentów Czy Zbędne Procedury?, Wanesa Choptiany-Mańka

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

This article aims to provide a concise analysis of U.S. law at the federal level regarding lenders’ obligation to verify consumers’ creditworthiness as part of their pre-contractual obligations. It focuses primarily on the instruments that lenders have at their disposal in order to conduct the examination in as much of an effective and standardized manner as possible, while protecting both their own interests, and the interests of consumers against amassing excessive debt. The article will attempt to answer the question whether the tools available to American lenders fulfill their function, and whether the Polish legislator can draw inspiration from US …