Consumer Protection Law Commons^™

The Service’S Overgenerous Tax Treatment Of Crowdfunding, Jeffrey H. Kahn

Cardozo Law Review de•novo

The Internal Revenue Service released a fact sheet that defines crowdfunding as a method to raise money on websites by soliciting contributions from a large number of people. This article considers how crowdfunding is treated for tax purposes and argues that, contrary to the fact sheet's determination, all donations collected by commercial websites should be income to the recipient.

Consumer Financial Data And Non-Horizontal Mergers, Linda Jeng, Jon Frost, Elisabeth Noble, Chris Brummer

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

This Article explores the potential competitive implications of non-horizontal mergers where they involve extensive consumer data, including consumer financial data. As data become increasingly central to firm strategy, mergers between data-rich firms, while potentially leading to positive outcomes, can also create market power in ways not entirely accounted for by traditional antitrust theory. The Article considers some of these implications. It introduces new metrics for valuing data sets held by merging firms that could help competition authorities evaluate market impacts more effectively. The Article then suggests potential tools to mitigate anti-competitive effects of data-rich mergers. It advocates for further research …

Internet Search Engines’ Privacy Violations And The Lack Of Federal Regulation To Protect Consumers Rights, Elsa M. G. Rodriguez Ogando

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The United States’ current legal framework regarding internet search engines is disadvantageous to consumers. Federal privacy laws (although not encompassing search engines) grant businesses a strong legal basis in privacy claims and alibies for arbitrary behavior; these laws favor businesses over consumers. Moreover, state privacy laws empower nonspecific agencies to oversee privacy matters and enforce consumers’ rights. Thus, the U.S. privacy legal framework is in need of a new federal law that establishes consumers’ rights, as well as a federal agency dedicated solely to privacy matters. This Article proposes a federal law recommendation based on the standards of the California …

Chronically Online: Apportioning Liability In Social Media Litigation Based On User Engagement, Rebecca Vangelos

Fordham Law Review

The average American teenager spends nearly five hours on social media every day. This result is by design: social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok deploy persuasive technologies—including infinite scroll, personalized content recommendation feeds, and dark patterns—to capture and retain teen attention. These intentional design features exploit adolescent vulnerabilities to foster social media dependency. Accordingly, a growing body of scientific evidence links the extensive use of social media to the teen mental health crisis in the United States.

Despite these negative effects, social media companies have largely evaded accountability for the harm they have caused to teens. Recent lawsuits …

Standing On Slippery Ground: Pfas Products, Article Iii Standing, And The Case For Legislative Action, Bren J. Chaisson

Student Competition & Published Writings

Can implementing a new statute fix the standing obstacle that many cases involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) face? PFAS are a classification of thousands of common chemicals that cause a variety of adverse health effects. Hardwick v. 3M Co. highlighted the issue plaintiffs have with establishing standing when bringing forth a case. The plaintiff’s alleged injury was the presence of five specific PFAS in his bloodwork. The 6 th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the plaintiff, a firefighter who often used PFAS-contaminated foam, was unable to demonstrate that the defendants, several PFAS manufacturers, were responsible for the PFAS …

Cleaning Our Hands Of Climate Washing: Promoting Corporate Responsibility With The European Union’S Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, Parker M. Jacobs

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

Having Fun Is Not As Hard When You Have An Arbitration Clause: The Current Benefits And Possible Changes To The Arbitration Agreements Of Amusement Parks And Recreational Resorts For Consumers, Cynthia Spitzer

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This Note will evaluate options that are more favorable for consumers to bring their injury claims against amusement parks and recreational resorts when the route for resolution is limited by an agreement. For instance, the option of an arbitration agreement would be more preferable when faced with only the option of a liability waiver. However, with possible future changes of consumer contracts from the FAIR Act, opt-in provision, or mandatory arbitration imposed on the corporations, the route for resolution can drastically change and improve the realm of possibility for consumers of amusement parks and recreational resorts.

Booing Bohnak: How The Second Circuit Dropped The Article Iii Ball In Analyzing Standing In Class Actions Arising From Cyberattacks, Douglas H Meal

Journal of Law, Technology, & the Internet

This article examines the Second Circuit's decision in Bohnak v. Marsh & McLennan Cos., which represents a pivotal development in the interpretation of Article III standing in the context of cyberattack class actions. The court's principal ruling, which held that mere unauthorized access to personal information by reason of a cyberattack constitutes a concrete injury sufficient for standing, marks a significant departure from prior jurisprudence and misinterprets the Supreme Court's seminal Article III decision in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez. So does the court's alternative holding that standing can be predicated on a plaintiff's risk of suffering identity theft …

Empowering Digital Consent: A Risk-Focused Due Diligence Tool, Bar Fargon Mizrahi

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

We live in an era of almost infinite digital interactions, many of which involve risks to our rights stemming from various problematic practices, such as data-protection infringements, user profiling, and consumer protection violations. Currently, the protection of digital consumers against these risks rests primarily on a "notice-and-consent" regulatory model-users are legally presumed to have consented to the terms of service (ToS) and privacy policy agreements (PPAs) of the digital services they use. In reality, despite the gravity of the risks involved, users routinely fail to study these binding agreements. Thus, it is widely accepted that this model is ineffective at …

Duped: The Implications Of The Proliferaiton Of Superfake Luxury Goods And What Consumers May Not Have Considered, Riann Colbert

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

The proliferation of "Superfake" luxury goods, which are high-quality counterfeit items nearly indistinguishable from authentic products, poses significant challenges to trademark law, consumer protection, and the broader economy. These items, often sold through e-commerce platforms, not only undermine legitimate businesses but also expose consumers to health risks, support organized crime, and perpetuate environmental harm. The note advocates for enhanced legal frameworks and consumer education to mitigate these issues.

How To Beat The Nfl’S Best Defense: Attacking The Mass Arbitration Phenomenon With Class Arbitration, Thomas Riley

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

During his seventeen-year tenure as Commissioner of the National Football League (NFL), Roger Goodell never testified at trial. However, that changed when a class of plaintiffs sued the NFL for antitrust violations, alleging the League artificially inflated the cost of its viewership package—NFL Sunday Ticket—and thereby harmed consumers. NFL Sunday Ticket is described as a “premium sports package” that allows fans to watch out-of-market games they otherwise would not be able to view in their current market. This David and Goliath moment was a chance to discipline the pricing of one of the most popular television products in the United …

Brief Of Amici Curiae In Support Of Reversal On Question One, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

The Fourth Circuit’s decision to impose contributory liability Cox Communications, Inc. rests on a fundamental misapprehension of Cox’s role as a “conduit” Internet Service Provider. Conduits merely transmit data between endpoints; unlike content-hosting platforms like YouTube or search engines like Google, conduits do not store, curate, or control user content. They merely transmit data on behalf of third parties, and they have no ability to monitor the data they transmit. By treating Cox’s passive provision of Internet access and data transmission as a knowing, material contribution to infringement, the Fourth Circuit collapsed the crucial legal distinction between conduits and hosts, …

The Federal General Counsel, Law, And Our Democracy At A Crossroads, Seth Frotman

Michigan Law Review Online

This speech, given by the general counsel of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on January 7, 2025, examines how federal government lawyers can help ensure that laws are faithfully administered to address the contemporary challenges facing American citizens. Despite the CFPB’s successes in protecting consumers from predatory financial practices—particularly amid the rapid digital transformation of the economy—undemocratic forces have increasingly rigged the legal system to serve as both sword and shield for the powerful. The speech describes how judge-made doctrines like “major questions” have been weaponized to disempower Congress from writing statutes with enduring relevance. These challenges represent an …

Ai Disgorgement Or Ai Recalls: A Trip Down Remedy Lane, Margot Kaminski

Publications

No abstract provided.

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Voting Matters: Materiality Considerations And The Shareholder Vote, Renee M. Jones

Seattle University Law Review

For the shareholder franchise to have meaning, shareholders must have access to relevant information to inform their voting decisions. The securities laws’ disclosure requirements play an essential role in informing the shareholder vote.

This Essay focuses on the question of the materiality of information in the context of shareholder voting. It addresses the question of whether ESG-related information is material, positioning the materiality inquiry within the context of shareholders’ voting decisions. It explores the definition of materiality with a focus on the “reasonable investor” concept embedded within the definition. The Essay argues that the implicit expectations of many commentators that …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Understanding The Big Three’S Wavering Support Of Environmental And Social Shareholder Proposals, Jeff Schwartz, Jefferson Jensen

Seattle University Law Review

Because of their substantial equity portfolios, BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street (the Big 3) are central players in corporate governance. It is, therefore, critical to understand how they vote. One puzzle is that their support for shareholder proposals on environmental and social matters appears to waiver. In 2020, for instance, BlackRock supported 11.1% of environmental proposals at S&P 500 firms. In 2021, it seemingly reversed course, supporting 55.2%. It then flipped again, supporting 32.1% in 2022. Such statistics suggest that the Big 3 are constantly changing their views on these topics. This Article seeks to better understand whether this is …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Consumer Agents, Rory Van Loo

Faculty Scholarship

In the twenty-first century economy, individuals need market help that they are not getting. The technology has long existed for a browser plug-in that would filter out toxic social media content or a virtual shopping assistant that would find and even purchase the best deals online without having to go to many different websites and product pages. Yet tech platforms have used lawsuits and data control to stifle such tools. The lack of digital helpers has potentially profound consequences. Social media use is linked to alarming increases in teenage depression and anxiety. Businesses’ ability to manipulate consumers into paying higher …

Dark Patterns In The Opt-Out Process And Compliance With The California Consumer Privacy Act (Ccpa), Jens Frankenreiter, Van Hong Tran, Aarushi Mehrotra, Ranya Sharma, Marshini Chetty, Nick Feamster, Lior Strahilevitz

Scholarship@WashULaw

To protect consumer privacy, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) mandates that businesses provide consumers with a straightforward way to opt out of the sale and sharing of their personal information. However, the control that businesses enjoy over the opt-out process allows them to impose hurdles on consumers aiming to opt out, including by employing dark patterns. Motivated by the enactment of the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), which strengthens the CCPA and explicitly forbids certain dark patterns in the opt-out process, we investigate how dark patterns are used in opt-out processes and assess their compliance with CCPA regulations. Our …

Emortgage And Crypto-Mortgage In Home Finance, Julia Patterson Forrester Rogers

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Most home mortgage loans today are documented on physical paper, but they are increasingly closed as eMortgages. The move to electronic documents is inevitable and will ultimately be a positive change for lenders and borrowers. However, additional regulation is needed to address issues raised by electronic home mortgage closings and the “crypto-mortgage,” a mortgage loan with the obligation evidenced by or tethered to a non-fungible token.

Lenders have traditionally required that home mortgage loans be evidenced by a wet-signed paper promissory note to gain the advantages and the certainty of Article 3 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) governing negotiable …

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 …