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The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of consumer protection agencies. In the light of growing importance of consumerism in developing countries, the paper measures the level of satisfaction with the performance provided by five different consumer protection agencies, in a chosen country, Saudi Arabia.

This study is based on a questionnaire survey conducted in Saudi Arabia. Based on a model developed for this study, the paper uses empirical research to determine customers' satisfaction with consumer protection agencies.

Results based on testing of hypotheses indicate that overall satisfaction is primarily derived from the objectives and roles played by consumer protection agencies. Results reveal that consumers assign different levels of importance to various dimensions when evaluating satisfaction with consumer protection agencies in Saudi Arabia.

Limited sample size and the generalization of results for the entire Kingdom although the sample has been confined to the eastern province region are the limitations of this study.

The findings of this study have implications on the manner in which consumer protection agencies in Saudi Arabia must operate. Besides, findings of this study have also implications for business operating in Saudi Arabia.

This study makes a valuable contribution given the fact that there is a dearth of empirical studies covering the measurement of consumer satisfaction role played by consumer protection agencies in Saudi Arabia.

In order to succeed in an action under the Equal Pay Act 1970, should the woman and the man be employed by the same employer on like work at the same time or would the woman still be covered by the Act if she were employed on like work in succession to the man? This is the question which had to be solved in Macarthys Ltd v. Smith. Unfortunately it was not. Their Lordships interpreted the relevant section in different ways and since Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome was also subject to different interpretations, the case has been referred to the European Court of Justice.

Given the unique cultural-political context of China, this paper aims to investigate two research questions: What has been the development trajectory of policy-making on consumer privacy protection in China, and what factors have shaped its development over the years?

This paper adopts a historical approach and examines the development of Chinese consumer privacy policy during four periods: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010-present.

Chinese policy-making on consumer privacy protection has made steady advancement in the past few decades due to factors such as technological development, elite advocacy and emulation of other markets; however, the effects of these factors are conditioned by local forces.

To date, most studies of consumer privacy issues have focused on Western countries, especially the European Union and the USA. A better understanding of how consumer privacy policy has developed in China provides important lessons on the promotion of consumer privacy protection in other developing countries.

Within a larger mandate of reviewing the key global trends concerning consumer protection in the electronic commerce (e-commerce) literature, this study aims to study the legal framework concerning e-commerce and consumer protection in the Sultanate of Oman and to analyse the current regulations concerning e-commerce and consumer protection.

This study followed the normative legal research approach and resorted to the desk research process to facilitate content analysis of literature containing consumer protection legislation and regulatory provisions in Oman in particular and the rest of the world in general.

The study reveals that consumer protection initiatives in Oman are well entrenched for offline transactions, but are relatively new and limited for e-commerce. In spite of the promulgation of consumer protection laws, electronic transaction law and cybercrime law, consumer protection measures for e-commerce in Oman do not address a large number of the global concerns necessary to build consumer confidence and trust in the online environment.

There is a dearth of information concerning Oman on this topic in the extant literature. The research also witnessed the lack of empirical data on the issue of consumer protection and e-commerce in Oman that offer a detailed database of consumer complaints and associated outcomes.

The mechanism of consumer protection in electronic transactions is not robust in many countries. Because of the lack of comprehensive and robust legislation, consumers remain vulnerable in the online contractual purchase process. Moving beyond the fragmented legislation, many countries are currently mulling an all-comprehensive e-commerce law, implications of this paper will help the policymakers in identifying the focus areas.

Consumer protection is a burning global issue in this era of consumerism. It is important to build consumer trust, transparency and integrity of transactions to reduce the risk and uncertainties of purchase.

Consumer protection studies conducted in the context of Oman, hitherto, deal more with data protection and dispute resolution mechanisms, and less with legal provisions, regulations and consumer confidence. The study shares newer insights based on a systematic review of legal and business databases. It is the first study of its kind in the context of Oman and the Middle East in general.

The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.

This chapter aims to examine Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) approach in fulfilling its financial consumer protection mandate from unfair contract terms and the statutory framework relevant for consumer protection in the domestic market. This is a qualitative-based research. Using content analysis, this study analyses BNM’s Financial Stability and Payment Systems Report from 2012 to 2016, specifically on the ‘market conduct and consumer empowerment’ to explore BNM’s prudential regulatory, supervisory and consumer protection roles in protecting bank consumers from unfair contract terms. It is found that even if a number of standards and guidelines have been issued by BNM in improving ‘fairness and transparency’, the potential risk facing bank consumers from unfair terms in standard consumer contracts of Islamic banks especially where terms may be unfair or unclear remains unchanged. This study recommends that BNM as the Central Bank and financial regulator of Malaysia promotes self-regulation of the Islamic banks by adopting value-based banking of a consumer-focussed culture in delivering an effective protection for consumers from unfair contract terms and empowering them in their dealings with Islamic banks in Malaysia. This study will be helpful in bringing a policy formulation by BNM in identifying their weak areas and suggesting improvements in pursuing a strong consumer protection agenda from unfair contract terms.

Drawing from the argument that mobile money services have a significant potential to provide a wide range of affordable, convenient and secure financial services, there have been rampant frauds on consumers of financial products over the digital financial platform. Thus, this study aims to establish the mediating effect of digital consumer protection in the relationship between mobile money adoption and usage and financial inclusion with data collected from micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in northern Uganda.

To achieve the main objective of this study, a research model was developed to test for the mediating effect of digital consumer protection in the relationship between mobile money adoption and usage and financial inclusion. The data were collected from MSMEs and structural equation modelling in partial least square (PLS) combined with bootstrap was applied to analyze and test the hypotheses of this study. The direct and indirect effect of mobile money adoption and usage on financial inclusion was tested through digital consumer protection as a mediator variable.

The findings from the PLS-structural equation modelling (SEM) showed that mobile money adoption and usage has both direct and indirect effect on financial inclusion. Moreover, financial inclusion is influenced by both mobile money adoption and usage and digital consumer protection.

The study used partial least square (PLS-SEM) combined with bootstrap confidence intervals through a formative approach to establish the mediating effect of the mediator variable. Hence, it ignored the use of covariance-based SEM and the MedGraph programme. Furthermore, data were collected from samples located in Gulu district, northern Uganda and specifically from MSMEs. This limits generalization of the study findings to other population who also use mobile money services.

Promoters of digital financial services, managers of telecommunication companies, and financial inclusion advocates should consider strengthening the existing digital consumer protection laws on the mobile money platform. A collaborative approach between the mobile network operators, financial institutions and regulators should tighten the existing laws against mobile money fraudsters and an efficient mechanism for recourse, compensation and remedy should be set up to benefit the victims of frauds and cybercrime on the Fintech ecosystem.

The current study gives a useful insight into the critical mediating role of digital consumer protection as a cushion for promoting financial inclusion through mobile phones over the Fintech that face great threat and risk from cyber insecurity.

The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act (which has been amended by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975) provides:

Currently, consumers of financial products and services have become more vulnerable to predatory financial institutions, especially in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, financial consumers like the persons with disabilities (PWDs) should be equipped with knowledge and skills to help them to evaluate complex financial products on offer in financial markets, especially in developing countries to avoid being victims of fraudulent lending. The purpose of this study is to establish whether customized financial literacy mediates the relationship between financial consumer protection and financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs in rural Uganda post Covid-19 pandemic.

SmartPLS 4.0 was used to construct the measurement and structural equation models to test whether customized financial literacy significantly mediates the relationship between financial consumer protection and financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs in rural Uganda post Covid-19 pandemic.

The results revealed a partial mediating effect of customized financial literacy in the relationship between financial consumer protection and financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs in rural Uganda post Covid-19 pandemic. Conducting customized financial literacy increases financial consumer protection by 12 percentage points to promote financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs in rural Uganda post Covid-19 pandemic.

This study focused only on customized financial literacy and financial consumer protection to promote universal financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs post Covid-19 pandemic. Future studies may use data collected from other vulnerable groups amongst the unbanked population in developing countries, Uganda inclusive. In addition, this study also collected only quantitative data from the selected population. Further studies can be conducted using key informant interviews and focused group discussion to get the perceptions of the PWDs on being protected from exploitation by unscrupulous financial institutions.

The findings from this study can help policymakers in developing countries like Uganda to revise the existing consumer protection law to include strong clauses on protection of people with special needs like the PWDs. The law must ensure that they are not exploited by financial institutions because of their conditions. The law ought to make sure that the PWDs are educated about their rights in the financial market place and all information on financial products offered by financial institutions should be simplified and interpreted to them before they make consumption decisions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study is amongst the first few studies to provide a meticulous and unique discourse on the ever increasing role of financial literacy combined with consumer protection to reduce consumption risks within the financial markets, especially in developing countries in the aftermath of global pandemic shocks. This study uses the social learning theory, theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behaviour to elucidate how customized financial literacy can enhance consumer protection to increase financial inclusion of groups with special needs like the PWDs who have become more susceptible to exploitation by unscrupulous financial institutions in under-developed financial markets, especially in post Covid-19 pandemic.

The Howard Shuttering Contractors case throws considerable light on the importance which the tribunals attach to warnings before dismissing an employee. In this case the tribunal took great pains to interpret the intention of the parties to the different site agreements, and it came to the conclusion that the agreed procedure was not followed. One other matter, which must be particularly noted by employers, is that where a final warning is required, this final warning must be “a warning”, and not the actual dismissal. So that where, for example, three warnings are to be given, the third must be a “warning”. It is after the employee has misconducted himself thereafter that the employer may dismiss.

This paper aims to study a retailer’s decision on the price and inventory when facing strategic consumer behavior and demand uncertainty. Price protection is a kind of rebate that the retailer provides to consumers when the price drops during the selling season. The research investigates whether price protection can bring the retailer advantages. This paper compares price protection’s impact with price commitment. In addition, the paper studies the price protection’s impacts on supplier of the supply chain.

In this model, there are three alternative strategies for retailer: no price protection policy, full price protection policy and partial price protection policy. The selling season is divided into two periods: regular period and sale period. In the regular period, the products are sold at a regular price. In the sale one, the products are sold at a lower price. By adopting rational expectations equilibrium, this paper analyzes retailer’s optimal price and order quantity under each policy and compares optimal decisions and maximum profits of three policies.

This paper finds that the price protection has a positive influence on the retailer. Strategic consumers are induced to purchase at the regular period. It can simultaneously increase retailer’s profit and reduce inventory risk. Meantime, full price protection is chosen as the optimal policy. By comparing full price protection’s impacts with price commitment, full price protection is considered as the most profitable strategy, while price commitment can bring lower inventory risk. In addition, the profit of supplier would decrease because of price protection.

This research provides a new method to address the negative effects of strategic consumer behavior. It also brings some managerial insights to some retailers, especially online ones, on whether to adopt price protection.

This study aims to assess the effects of risk perception and management subject satisfaction on consumers' online meal food safety self-protection behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study uses 742 questionnaires collected via a two-stage online survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, between December 2021 and January 2022. The entropy method, descriptive statistics, ordered logit model, stepwise regression models, interaction terms and decentralization method were used in the quantitative analysis. Respondents’ written responses to self-protection behavior were categorized into five groups.

Less than half of consumers were aware that online food products carry the risk of SARS-COV-2 (44.48%). Between 30 and 40% of consumers took insufficient or no self-protection measures. Risk perception significantly and positively affected self-protection behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers' management subject satisfaction has a positive moderating effect on risk perception, with the moderating effect of the satisfaction of online retailers being significant at the 5% level. Risk perception significantly and positively influences consumer self-protection behavior in provinces not affected by the pandemic.

The findings stress the benefits of synergistic interventions by consumers and management subject to food safety measures and the inclusion of tailored interventions during events threatening public health to effectively address food safety. The study offers valuable insights contributing to the improvement of public health outcomes, customer trust and service quality within the online food delivery industry.

This chapter introduces the fundamentals of portfolio and financial consumer protection from frauds in the cryptoasset space. Cryptoassets pose new risks to portfolios and financial consumers: idiosyncratic risks stemming from their unique features and systematic risks arising from transitioning from centralized to decentralized finance. Market experience indicates that these risks threaten every portfolio and financial consumer holding cryptoassets. In the consumer protection framework, cryptoasset risks are higher than traditional asset risks. Cryptoassets fall outside the regulatory domain in many jurisdictions. Moreover, their decentralized nature, technological attributes, and the momentum of financial technology cause asymmetric technology, disarming system-based portfolio and consumer protection mechanisms against frauds and abuses. Hence, the idiosyncratic and systematic risks of cryptoassets highlight the importance of developing more vigilant self-protection mechanisms.

Drawing on protection motivation theory (PMT) and expectancy theory, this study aims to investigate consumers’ lodging consumption intentions during a pandemic crisis.

The research survey was conducted during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (August, 2020) in the USA to investigate consumers’ lodging intentions amidst the pandemic crisis. PLS-SEM and multiple regression were conducted to explore answers to proposed research questions.

The research finds that, during the pandemic crisis, consumers’ lodging consumption intentions are subject to both their internal protection motivation evaluations and the external prevention practices implemented by the lodging facilities regardless of property types and travel purposes. Notably, the research finds that consumers are willing to make efforts and pay extra for a safe stay at lodging facilities.

This research contributes to the literature regarding the applications of PMT and expectancy theory from a crisis management perspective, and it provides implications and guidelines to the crisis management practices in the lodging industry.

The current research examines the specific protection motivation appraisal factors and prevention practices significantly impacting consumers’ decisions in terms of willingness to stay at various lodging facilities (hotels and non-hotel homestay/short-term rental properties) for different purposes (business and leisure) and to pay premiums for a safe stay.

Hisbah is one of the distinguished institutions that had emerged since the early days of the Islamic empire. Based on its cardinal duty to enjoin good and prohibit evil, over time, its functions gradually expanded, and its responsibilities increasingly grew. In light of the contemporary trend in establishing institutional framework for consumer protection, entrusting an agency with multifarious tasks may not be the best and effective way in handling consumer protection issues. Thus, this chapter attempts to explore the new paradigm of hisbah as a consumer protection institution in Malaysia with a special reference to the Islamic consumer credit industry. While utilising the doctrinal legal research methodology, relevant sources of law have been examined and analysed. This research finds that the classical hisbah institution provides a good reference point in establishing regulatory agency and dispute management body. Nevertheless, some modifications are required to remain relevant especially in terms of specialisation of role and function. Likewise, it is viewed that adjustment of the hisbah institution is also necessary regarding the characteristic of the muhtasib (ombudsman).

The purpose of this paper is to examine the approaches to consumer protection in UK financial services before and after the global financial crisis.

This paper reviews the literature on behavioural economics and psychology, and uses it as the basis for a critique of the UK's approach to the supervision of financial services firms and the protection of their consumers.

Non‐interventionist approaches to consumer protection, which are based on the traditional theories of the law and economics movement, have failed. As a result, there is now a shift in thinking towards more interventionist approaches.

By understanding the likely impact of the regulatory reforms the academic research community can assist the regulator to understand the best way to ensure desirable outcomes for users (consumers) of financial services.

The moves to reform UK financial regulation after the crisis have only recently got under way and a lot of the reforms have not been widely debated or written on.

The chapter is prepared on the basis of previous scientific developments of the author, as well as the current legislation of the United States of America. The following laws were studied: Truth in Lending Act; Electronic Fund Transfers Act; Fair Credit Reporting Act; Consumer Leasing Act; Consumer Protection Act; Equal Credit Opportunity Act; Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act; Privacy of Consumer Financial Information Act; Home Mortgage Disclosure Act; Alternative Mortgage Parity Act; Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Conflicts – Customer Code; and Code of Arbitration Procedure for Industry Conflicts. One of the new US laws was analyzed – Arbitration Fairness Act, 2017. Data was also used from the Final Report to Congress on the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer financial services contracts, 2015, and information resources available on the websites of financial regulators: the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Currency Comptroller, the National Administration of Credit Unions, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Agency for Housing Finance, the Financial Bureau Consumer Protection, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and American Arbitration Association.

Methodologically, the research is based on the author's materialistic worldview, which is implemented meaningfully in a positivist approach to the scientific article. In preparing the chapter, general scientific methods were applied: formal logic, system-functional, historical, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction; special methods: mathematical, and statistical. Also the author applied private scientific methods of jurisprudence: normative-dogmatic, method of legal and technical design, interpretation of law, and others.

This study aims to discover the legal borderline between licit online marketing and illicit privacy-intrusive and manipulative marketing, considering in particular consumers’ expectations of privacy.

A doctrinal legal research methodology is applied throughout with reference to the relevant legislative frameworks. In particular, this study analyzes the European Union (EU) data protection law [General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)] framework (as it is one of the most advanced privacy laws in the world, with strong extra-territorial impact in other countries and consequent risks of high fines), as compared to privacy scholarship on the field and extract a compliance framework for marketers.

The GDPR is a solid compliance framework that can help to distinguish licit marketing from illicit one. It brings clarity through four legal tests: fairness test, lawfulness test, significant effect test and the high-risk test. The performance of these tests can be beneficial to consumers and marketers in particular considering that meeting consumers’ expectation of privacy can enhance their trust. A solution for marketers to respect and leverage consumers’ privacy expectations is twofold: enhancing critical transparency and avoiding the exploitation of individual vulnerabilities.

This study is limited to the European legal framework scenario and to theoretical analysis. Further research is necessary to investigate other legal frameworks and to prove this model in practice, measuring not only the consumers’ expectation of privacy in different contexts but also the practical managerial implications of the four GDPR tests for marketers.

This study originally contextualizes the most recent privacy scholarship on online manipulation within the EU legal framework, proposing an easy and accessible four-step test and twofold solution for marketers. Such a test might be beneficial both for marketers and for consumers’ expectations of privacy.

Despite the special attention given to consumers by the business and academic literature, the dissatisfaction of Brazilian consumers has increased significantly. This manifest mainly through the initiation of complaints’ procedures against companies at Procon and other civil society consumer protection organizations (CPOs) that began to take over these issues complementarily to governmental action. This paper aims to examine the accomplishments and relevance of these organizations in protecting consumers and in preparation of related public policies.

A qualitative case study was conducted involving an in-depth collection of information about a restricted system, which included multiple sources. The information was obtained through semi-structured interviews conducted with CPOs’ executives and documents from the other participating organizations in the consumer protection field.

The CPOs have been positively evaluated by participants from the consumer protection field, for their effective action in the intermediation of complaints and in proposing laws and regulations on consumer protection. However, this picture is contrasted with the difficulties imposed by the practices of other field logics, such as legal procedures, media priorities and business interests that, however, collaborate in various occasions.

CPOs’ relevance is more easily evaluated through social legitimation such as endorsements and declarations by the media, the public, by the CPOs’ own publicity and so on. As consumers can choose from alternative channels for redress, firms should be updated with the different procedural norms of each.

This paper draws a picture of the work developed by CPOs and indicates a possible assessment of their relevance in a scenario of logics complexity, which can be useful for policy makers.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the regulatory framework of e-money transactions in terms of consumer protection approach, the base for regulatory and supervisory system.

This research is based on descriptive-qualitative studies in electronic and cyber commerce. The authors have first explained the importance of regulation for consumer protection and have then showed the position of regulation in e-money; thus, the authors have noted two important and predominant concepts of consumer protection: safe arrangement in e-money and problem of information secrecy and asymmetry. The leading approach in this paper is for efficient allocation of resources between dealers and player of this scope and the authors find consumer protection as the best regulation instrument in this way.

The paper argues that e-money is an efficient and user-friendly payment system and might be used as a general means of payment in the real and virtual worlds. This finding provides a major reason for regulatory frameworks in e-money.

Some important regulation applications in this new scope of commerce involve indirect interference and making orders in transactions. In this paper, the authors have focused on consumer protection regulation that may have a positive effect on dealers, businessmen and women in the long run; thus, this approach also compares other studies within the scope of e-money.

Makes recommendations for protecting users in cyberspace, which relate to commercial communications, relationships between the service provider and consumers, and data protection. Concludes that initiatives involving trust and confidence are a means of developing confidence in electronic commerce.

This paper aims to develop an instrument for measuring Consumer Protection and its Determinants (CP&Ds). This is because literature on an instrument to measure CP&Ds is scarce.

In Nigeria, 53 questionnaires were distributed to legal practitioners. The study used 24 items to operationalize the CP&Ds. The research data were coded and scored, and the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted using SPSS version 22. The Bartlett’s test of sphericity, Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin, Cronbach’s alpha and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used for the EFA, internal consistency reliability and multicollinearity, respectively.

The EFA produced seven factors, and each determinant was found reliable with its measure of internal consistency.

The research result may not be generalized across jurisdiction because of the limited sample size and the fact that the data were collected from Nigerian legal practitioners.

This study can be used by policymakers and even private electricity companies in the deregulated electricity sector in Nigeria for policy design and effective consumer protection.

From the extensive literature review none was identified on the scale development for measuring CP&Ds. This exploratory research is the first attempt to develop an instrument for measuring CP&Ds.

This study aims to examine the phenomenon of Fatwā shopping, its effect on consumer trust in Islamic finance products and the need for effective consumer protection regulations in the Islamic finance industry.

The methodology used in this study is qualitative research which draws significantly from relevant regulations on financial consumer protection through analytical method to identify common themes on Fatwā shopping and consumer trust in the relevant literature.

This study finds that the increasing practice of Fatwā shopping through clandestine searches by some Islamic banks to get their new products endorsed by leading Sharī‘ah scholars requires proper legal regulation to avoid a total erosion of trust in the entire Islamic finance industry.

Though Fatwā shopping is practiced in the Islamic finance industry, it is always difficult to get some desperate Islamic bankers to agree to this; hence, this study does not portend to examine the evidence on Fatwā shopping, but it seeks to bring to the fore the effect of Fatwā shopping on consumer trust in Islamic financial services, and the need for effective consumer protection regulations.

This study is expected to provide an invaluable guide and policy framework for emerging and promising jurisdictions on the need to regulate Fatwā shopping through an effective legal framework based on some best practices identified in the study.

Though there have been a number of studies relating to Fatwā shopping, focusing on the need for effective consumer protection regulations in the Islamic finance industry will enrich the existing literature and have significant implications for the future of the industry.

Internet forms a popular forum for information exchange between consumers, while online marketing has opened a range of new facilities for companies to promote and sell their products. This article aims to find out if consumer power has increased as a result of comparison websites and access to more information, or whether it has decreased because of unreliable companies and websites that misuse identity concealing features of the Internet. Main question is whether the autonomy of consumers, and therewith the position of power against producers, is restricted by advertisement techniques from producers who are using the Internet, and if there are causes for concern. Attention will be paid to current legislation on consumer protection and on unfair commercial practices, and implications of online shopping are discussed. Methods such as ‘markufacturing’ and comparison websites are discussed explicitly. Some focus points are provided as a first onset to further regulation in order to retain fair power positions between producers and consumers.

Based on a decolonial perspective from Latin America, this paper aims to offer a different history of the creation of Brazil’s Consumer Defense Code (CDC), analyzing the process through which Eurocentric influences, especially coming from Consumers International (CI), became present in the development of the code.

A qualitative historical research was developed using marketing amnesia and decolonialism as its theoretical backdrop. Primary and secondary data are used as source of information. Primary data were obtained through interviews with two authors of the CDC. Secondary data were collected from academic articles and books, reports, magazines and consumer organization websites, as well as journalistic articles.

During the drafting of the CDC and after its promulgation, the presence of Eurocentric forces was constant, given the interests of CI and other agents in influencing Brazil’s consumer practices, subordinating them to those of the Global North. This Eurocentric presence was accepted by the Brazilian jurists that drafted the CDC, which led to the incorporation of both laws and bills from Eurocentric countries and the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection into the code.

Such discussions are scarce in marketing, due to the area’s amnestic state regarding the past. While selectively forgetting certain pasts, marketing fails to both acknowledge its tendency to subordinate consumerist actions to those accepted by the Eurocentric world, and to establish analyses that deal with mimetic processes, to minimize asymmetries between companies and consumers, especially in emerging economies, and, even more, dichotomies between the Global North and the Global South.

This article seeks to take a critical look at the proposed Common European Sales Law (CESL).

The article looks at the rationales given to support the enactment of the CESL. The approach is critical in nature seeking to vet the plausibility of the rationales given for a new regulation The article also takes a critical look at the CESL's structure and trilogy of coverage – sale of goods, supply of digital content, and supply of services.

The article exposes some of the shortcomings of the CESL and the dangers to substantive private law of crafting a regulation based on political feasibility.

The CESL as proposed offers some innovative ideas in areas of the bifurcation of businesses into large and small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as rules covering digital content and the supply of trade‐related services. In the end, the analysis suggests a more thorough review is needed to better understand the CESL's interrelationship with the Convention on Contracts for the International Sales Law (CISG) and EU consumer protection law.

Further analysis is needed and unanswered questions need to be answered prior to the enactment of the CESL into law. A practical first step would to begin with a more targeted law focused on internet trading and licensing contracts.

This article questions the rationales given for the enactment of an ambitious new regulation covering disparate areas of sale of goods, supplying (licensing) of digital content, trade‐related services, and consumer protection. It further questions the rationality and practicality of the creation of the designation of SMEs as types of businesses in need of extra protections not currently provided by contract law's general policing doctrines.

The purpose of this paper is to offer some reflection on the abuse of consumer trust and the importance of control of information in the digital market and the green market. The role of the consumer as the arbiter of the market is fundamental. The abuse of consumer confidence depends, in fact, on the spread of stereotyped messages and vague and generic formulas aimed at hiding a dangerous vacuum of protection. In both markets, it is a question of giving the consumer the necessary tools to monitor the transparency of the criteria used by the trader to classify a product according to its characteristics.

Based on the analysis of an Italian case law and the European programme, the author shows how in Italy there is a dangerous lack of consumer protection. The problem is that the green consumer, as well as the online consumer, is not able to immediately verify the accuracy of the product requirements and must be able to count on the seriousness of the professional. For this reason, the European and national authorities have provided specific rules for both markets. The new proposal of directive introduces specific rules to target unfair commercial practices that mislead consumers away from sustainable consumption choices and introduced many innovations, such as the ban on greenwashing.

This work aims to identify the tools necessary to make the information on the products offered in the digital market and those related to green products more reliable but above all to create a common methodology on which to base them. High is the risk that sustainability will become a simple marketing strategy for companies. The difficulty consists in the absence of certain and verifiable parameters by the consumer to really measure the characteristics and the quality of a product characteristic of a product compared to competing ones.

This work examines the problem of consumer protection in the digital and green market from a new perspective, comparing the information asymmetries with respect to the professionals in the two markets. Starting from the cases of greenwashing and analysing new European remedies, the author suggests for both markets, specific answers different from those required for advertising in general. The problem here is not only the truth of the message but also the vagueness and genericity. The consumer must be in a position to control the criteria used by the professional to classify products, both in the green and the digital market. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the original work of the author and has not been submitted elsewhere for publication.

This paper aims to examine consumers’ attitudes toward marketing practices and consumer rights in Jordan, based on an empirical investigation of university students. The study refers to John Kennedy’s bill of four consumer rights: the Right to Safety, the Right to be Informed, the Right to Choose and the Right to be Heard.

This paper depends on a convenience sample of 381 students, using a drop-off method, with a structured, self-administered questionnaire to measure consumer attitudes regarding the four basic consumer rights, as listed above, utilizing a five-point Likert scale measure.

The overall findings show that the current consumers’ attitudes toward marketing practices related to protection of consumer rights is not highly favorable, indicating that more work will be needed for improvement, with more attention to consumers’ Right to be Heard. The study urged marketers and public policymakers in Jordan to reconsider the way consumer rights were being approached by marketing practitioners.

The study is unique by virtue of its nature, scope and way of empirical investigation, as it explores the status of perceived consumer rights for the first time in Jordan, drawing on John Kennedy’ model. The study calls upon marketers and public policymakers to pay more attention to the current status of consumer rights, with implications for better business strategies and more useful legislations pertaining to consumer protection.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the link between financial consumer protection (FCP) and economic growth.

The authors use cross-country data on 114 countries surveyed in the World Bank Global Survey on FCP and Financial Literacy (2013) and endogenous treatment regressions for the estimation.

The results indicate that FCP enhances economic growth through fair treatment, responsible lending, enforcement and dispute resolution and recourse regulations. The authors find no evidence to suggest that disclosure and compliance monitoring regulations have an effect on economic growth.

This study provides rich insight into the important question faced by policy makers, as to which FCP regulatory mechanisms to put in place to enhance economic growth.

This study provides current, cross-country empirical evidence on the debate as to whether FCP enhances economic growth.

It is undoubtedly the case that advertising plays a significant part in modern economic life in most societies and many view it as an essential part of the operation of a free market system. Yet it is also the case that our knowledge of how exactly it works and whether the vast amounts spent on it are justified is still uncertain. Lord Leverhulme, the founder of Lever Brothers, is credited with the famous aphorism — ‘one half of advertising does not work but nobody knows which half’ and that perhaps sums up the situation very well. One thing that is generally accepted is that some protection must be provided both to consumers and trade competitors from false or misleading advertising which can lead to market distortions and economic loss to purchasers. Increasingly controversial, however, is the scope and extent of legal and voluntary controls on advertising. In the advertising industry fears are rising about the volume of both national and EEC proposals to restrict or limit advertising and as we move from the '80s, a decade of conspicuous consumption in which advertising flourished, to the caring '90s where environmental issues are to the fore, the advertising industry faces major challenges. Advertising as a whole is facing severe economic and legal challenges after the massive expansion of the 1980's — it is estimated that there was a 4% fall in real terms in UK advertising expenditure in the first quarter of 1990 and an estimated 5% fall in the second quarter. Clients are becoming more demanding and the cosy cartel arrangement whereby advertising agencies made a 15% standard commission on a client's expenditure has gone — commissions are down to 12%‐13% or being replaced by fixed fees. It has been estimated by the Advertising Association that proposed legal restrictions could lead to a loss of £1 bn in revenue for the industry. Multi‐farious pressure groups are campaigning against drink advertising, cigarette advertising and sexism in adverts. The advertising industry's concerns are reflected in a recent report by the Advertising Association — ‘A Freedom Under Threat — Advertising in the EC’. The report indicates a number of areas where legislative controls have been introduced or are proposed to be introduced over the next few years and expresses the fear that controls may be going too far in limiting freedom of ‘commercial speech’. Martin Boase, chairman of the Advertising Association writes in his introduction to the report:

The purpose of this study is to examine privacy issues in the e-commerce context from a power-responsibility equilibrium theory (PRE) perspective.

The data was collected using an online survey (n = 335) from online shopping consumers. This study used partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) techniques to empirically examine the proposed relationships.

A lack of corporate privacy responsibility and regulatory protection can deprive consumers of privacy empowerment and damage consumer trust to trigger privacy concerns and subsequent defensive responses. Also, the fsQCA revealed five causal configurations to explain high consumer defensive behaviours.

This study identifies the importance of PRE theory in the privacy context. Consumer privacy concerns, privacy empowerment and trust are established as strong mediators between corporate/regulatory privacy protection efforts and consumer backlash. The application of fsQCA verified that consumer privacy behaviour can be better explained by different configurations of the same causal antecedents.

The findings highlight the importance of increasing trust and privacy empowerment as mechanisms to manage privacy concerns and consumer backlash through responsible organisational and regulatory privacy protections. The importance of balancing power and responsibility dynamics for maintaining a healthy information exchange environment is identified.

This study extends the PRE framework of privacy to include corporate privacy responsibility, privacy empowerment and trust. This is one of the first studies to explore both antecedents and outcomes of privacy empowerment. Also, the application of complexity theory and fsQCA to explain consumers’ defensive responses is novel to the literature.

This monograph identifies five essential elements for an effective policy to promote consumer interests viz. protection, information, advice, education and representation. The author explores each in considerable depth to assess the extent to which this year's Fair Trading Act will contribute to them. Her verdict is that although not as much as might be hoped will be achieved, by and large the Act is a useful measure. It should bring a higher standard to trade practices particularly in the field of selling and promotion. But it can do little to provide consumer education or representation and these the author considers to be major omissions from the present consumer scene.

This paper aims to investigate the cooperative governance mechanisms for personal information security, which can help enrich digital governance research and provide a reference for the formulation of protection policies for personal information security.

This paper constructs an evolutionary game model consisting of regulators, digital enterprises and consumers, which is combined with the simulation method to examine the influence of different factors on personal information protection and governance.

The results reveal seven stable equilibrium strategies for personal information security within the cooperative governance game system. The non-compliant processing of personal information by digital enterprises can damage the rights and interests of consumers. However, the combination of regulatory measures implemented by supervisory authorities and the rights protection measures enacted by consumers can effectively promote the self-regulation of digital enterprises. The reputation mechanism exerts a restricting effect on the opportunistic behaviour of the participants.

The authors focus on the regulation of digital enterprises and do not consider the involvement of malicious actors such as hackers, and the authors will continue to focus on the game when assessing the governance of malicious actors in subsequent research.

This study's results enhance digital governance research and offer a reference for developing policies that protect personal information security.

This paper builds an analytical framework for cooperative governance for personal information security, which helps to understand the decision-making behaviour and motivation of different subjects and to better address issues in the governance for personal information security.

This chapter is dedicated to the intricate relationship of financial technology (fintech) and its regulators: serving as these were once tasked with maintaining stability and protection from consumers but today are increasingly held accountable for driving innovation. Before we go anywhere, however, this chapter takes a deep dive into where our fintech journey has brought us. How fast we got to this point goes even further to illustrate just what a huge regulatory concern this is. Every space has already been the domain of digital technology disruption, and traditional finance stands colliding with it in the form of fintech; thus, regulators need a new set-up urgently which may work for today's fast-evolving world order. Strike a balance between stimulation and consumer safety – address the privacy concerns associated with data while simultaneously ensuring financial inclusion across the population at large. The concept of a ‘sandbox’ – allowing firms to experiment with new products in supervised settings – emerged as a vital instrument for comprehending and addressing certain risks. There is a chapter on the importance of self-regulatory organisations, another on the role of cross-border cooperation in regulation and, lastly, one that urges continuous learning and adaptation. The matter is further developed with real-world case studies, which illustrate rather well what went wrong and right in the history of regulatory enforcement. The fintech industry must be regulated, and this should be an ongoing practice.

The purpose of this paper is to make suggestions of how to improve the legal standing of consumers of digital content products.

The analysis in this paper is based on desk research and comparative legal research, among others in the context of research performed in the context of a grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and, in parts, on a study performed for the European Commission by Loos et al.

This paper demonstrates that the legal and technical complexities of digital content products and the resulting lack of a clear notion of which product characteristics are still reasonable and normal can result in uncertainty for consumers and businesses, or even a lower level of protection for digital content consumers, as compared to consumers of more conventional products. In order to improve the protection of digital content consumers, defaults for the main functionalities and characteristics of digital content products may be needed. The article describes possible routes to create such defaults and concludes with suggestions for the way forward.

The article suggests a new approach to improving the legal standing of digital consumers, one that takes into account the situation of digital consumers as well as the need for flexibility and room for innovation for digital content businesses. It is based on extensive legal and comparative research into the present legal framework and develops a new approach of conceptualizing the legal obstacles that digital consumers can be confronted with.

German consumers are not really like the image that the German courts present. The portrait of a helpless, debilitated, immature creature who is in need of protection so as not to be led astray by advertising is not accurate. The European Court of Justice paints the average buyer as sensible, attentive and cautious, as well as possessing the ability to analyse the message behind advertising. So, in fact, the German consumer is awake and responsive to European developments. What is needed is a balance between market freedom and the protection of consumers; including a high availability of information for these potential buyers. When the consumer is adequately informed he/she will then be in the position to reap the full benefits of a single European market. But market access is crucial. With the growth of market access and information the subsequent behaviour of the potential consumers is determined by their ability to make rational decisions once given all the information. The availability of consumer information is twofold when applied to regulating the market: the autonomy of consumers becomes the mechanism for reconciling the market freedom rights of manufacturers; and the right that the buyer possesses to have their economic interests protected.

The purpose of this paper is to question whether companies follow a deliberate strategic internal pattern while responding to consumer complaints or they always offer consumers a fair redress.

A complaint sample from consumers addressed to the main Brazilian companies in four industries were examined. The responses directly provided to consumers were contrasted to those given after the mediation of Procon‐SP, the main Brazilian consumer protection agency. As an additional source of evidence a documentary research was conducted with other participants of the complaint process.

Results showed that companies retain or postpone the solution of complaints in order to discourage complainants, but once they appeal to consumer protection agencies their demands are satisfied, even when companies do not fully agree with them. This seems to reveal a strategic intent on their part.

Although the sample examined was not probabilistic, the evidence generated by the data collection and also the documents examined confirmed the results, enhancing the findings.

Government and consumer protection organizations could use this information to envision new ways to perfect regulation in order to avoid a complaint increase.

The results call the attention to the ways companies respond to consumer complaints, suggesting they do have a strategic intent regarding the solutions provided that go beyond offering a fair redress, as is recommended by marketing models highlighting market orientation and consumer satisfaction.

The purpose of this paper is two-fold: to explore the legal issue of the importance of personal data protection in the digital economy sector and to propose a legal framework for personal data protection as a consumer protection strategy and accelerate the digital economy.

This study is legal research. The research approach used was the comparative approach and statute approach. The legal materials used are all regulations regarding personal data protection that apply in Indonesia, Hong Kong and Malaysia. The technique of collecting legal materials is done by using library research techniques.

The value of Indonesia’s digital economy is the biggest in the Southeast Asia region, but data breach is still a big challenge to face. The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia) recorded 54 cases of a data breach in e-commerce, 27 cases in peer-to-peer lending and 5 cases in electronic money. Based on the results of a comparative study with Hong Kong and Malaysia, Indonesia has yet no specific Act that comprehensively regulates personal data protection. Indonesia also does not have a personal data protection commission. Criminal sanctions and civil claims related to data breaches have not yet been regulated.

This study examines the data breach problem in the Indonesian digital economy sector. However, the legal construction of personal data protection regulations is built on the results of a comparative study with Hong Kong and Malaysia.

The results of this study can be useful for constructing the ideal regulation regarding the protection of personal data in the digital economy sector.

The results of the recommendations in this study are expected to develop and strengthen the protection of personal data in the Indonesian digital economy sector. Besides aiming to prevent the misuse of personal data, the regulation aims to protect consumers and accelerate the growth of the digital economy.

Indonesia needs to create a personal data protection act. The act should at least cover such issues: personal data protection principles; types of personal data; management of personal data; mechanism of personal data protection and security; commission of personal data protection; transfers of personal data; resolution mechanism of personal data dispute and criminal sanctions and civil claims.

This paper aims to examine the potential moderating effect of knowledge management on the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on organizational performance.

Questionnaire data were collected from 170 distinct companies in Taiwan.

The results confirm the positive influence of CSR on organizational performance. There are also some interesting moderating effects of knowledge management in the CSR–performance relationship.

A major contribution of this study is its confirmation of the context-dependence nature of CSR and the potential moderating effect of knowledge management between CSR and organizational performance.

Adding to competitive dynamics and sustainability literature, this paper aims to examine the implementation of environmental protection and sustainability initiatives within the European fast-fashion clothing industry from the perspectives of Generation X and Y consumers. The study primarily investigates whether consumers’ level of environmental consciousness impacts their purchase decisions and consumption behaviour and the consequent strategic competitiveness effects on businesses.

The methodological approach relied on multiple data collection methods. In the first stage of the study, the researchers analysed the content of the official websites of two of Europe’s leading fashion firms. In the second stage, a quantitative research approach was aimed at revealing the perceptions, attitudes and purchase behaviour of Generation X and Y consumers towards the two fashion houses and their brands.

Although European fashion manufacturers invest in sustainability and engage in environmental protection, their marketing efforts need to be more effectively managed and targeted towards their target consumer markets. The level of engagement and sensitivity of each generational group towards sustainability issues varies. Each group’s environmental consciousness, motivation and response is shaped by distinct characteristics, which, in turn, create implications for the effectiveness of sustainability efforts towards differentiation and competitiveness. Overall, consumers engage in environmental initiatives but ignore the corporate initiatives pursued by the two fashion firms and did not view them as sustainable brands.

The study explores the effectiveness of sustainability and environmental protection orientation as business competitive strategies in the light of environmental turbulence and social changes impacting the fast-fashion clothing industry and its relationships with its consumer markets.

Consumerism's fundamental nature, reflecting as it did a general dissatisfaction among consumers with the existing relationship between consumer and producer in the marketplace in the well‐off industrialised nations, ensured its rapid growth and internationalisation. Notes that after gaining momentum in the USA, consumerism had spread to most of the developed countries, in particular Sweden, Japan, The Netherlands and the UK. Suggests that the international consumerist movement reached its peak in many countries in the late 1960s and 1970s, and this was when the consumerist movements were united by a single overwhelming objective — ensuring the consumer got a fair deal in the marketplace. Contends that consumerists have approached the problem from two different points — the strategies employed fall into these categories: consumer information and education; and the recognition of basic consumer rights in law. Believes that elements of both attempts try to ensure that the consumer is able to protect himself and are found in all the countries with consumerist movements. Concludes that consumerists' aim has been to ensure that within this framework the interests of consumers are protected and that consumers receive a fair deal.

The European Commission has published a revised proposal for a European Parliament and Council directive to harmonise member states' rules on consumer protection in relation to the distance marketing of financial services. Financial services had been specifically excluded from the scope of the Distance Selling Directive which came into force in the UK on 31st October, 2000. Included in the proposal is the right of a consumer to receive a comprehensive set of information about the financial services supplier and the contract before the contract has been concluded, and the right to withdraw from the contract without penalty during a period of 14 days after entering into the contract. Questions have arisen as to whether the proposal is an example of wholly unnecessary intervention at European level and whether it is introducing unnecessary red tape for the financial services industry. One of the most important problems with the proposal relates, however, to a fundamental disagreement between member states as to whether the directive should be a maximum harmonisation measure or simply minimum harmonisation. With the current protracted state of negotiations, it remains unclear as to whether this proposal will ever achieve political agreement.

When one looks at the marketing literature, consumerism activity is treated as a developed country phenomenon. The reason for this is partially attributable to a complete lack of appropriate conceptual and methodological frameworks to study consumerism issues across cultures and nations, specifically in less‐developed countries. The purpose of this article is to develop working propositions to study consumerism in multiple environments. Consumerism issues in developed versus LDC environments are discussed and their implications for international trade and marketing are elucidated. The influences that various socio‐economic, governmental and cultural environments have upon consumerism are also examined.

This paper aims to consider the question of changes brought to consumers’ trust and security issues by the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in electronic commerce.

Online shopping policies in Poland and Ukraine are compared from the perspective of four factors as follows: application of terms of service and privacy policy, usage of online payment systems, presence in price comparison engines and grade of secure sockets layer security certificates. Comparison is conducted within the framework of three research questions (complemented by eight hypotheses) set to reveal whether: policies of personal data protection and server security for online stores in both countries are the same; all online stores in both countries obey the existing e-commerce rules; e-commerce policies in the two countries differ significantly. The sample for analysis contains 40 Polish and 40 Ukrainian online stores, representing four industries, namely, electronics, entertainment, fashion and goods for children.

The research allowed to reveal major differences in the privacy policy of the two countries, caused, mainly, by the absence of GDPR in Ukraine. It also disclosed much stronger cooperation of online stores and price comparison engines in Poland compared to Ukraine. At the same time, research results allow to state that server security in both countries is on the same rather high level and that online stores use transparent and safe methods of online payment.

This research opens a way to other, expanded observations which will include more countries and larger scopes of data. Its main limitation is that GDPR influence is only studied in two countries, not in all countries where it is implemented.

This research contributes from security and trust perspectives by analyzing the situation in two countries as follows: the EU member (Poland) and a non-EU country (Ukraine). The value of exploring the situation of Ukrainian e-commerce consists of understanding how online stores function without implementing the GDPR. Observation of shopbots application allows drawing an important conclusion of the necessity for online stores to cooperate with such services. It was also revealed that consumers’ trust in both countries depends a lot on the payment methods applied by an online store and on the ease of use of these methods.

Consumer perceptions regarding what constitutes best food risk management (FRM) practice may vary as a consequence of cross‐cultural differences in consumer perceptions, cultural contexts, and historical differences in governance practices and occurrence of food safety incidents. The purpose of this paper is to compare the views of Russian consumers with those of consumers in European Union member states.

A survey previously conducted in five EU member states was replicated using a Russian consumer sample (n=460, SEM analysis). Psychological factors underpinning consumer evaluations of food risk management quality (FRMQ) were identified. A qualitative study (consumer focus group, n=9) allowed for in‐depth interpretation of the quantitative results.

Russian consumers hold similar views to consumers in EU member states regarding their perceptions of what constitutes effective FRM practices. However, the perceived honesty of food chain actors was an important determinant of perceived FRMQ only for Russian consumers, who also perceived that they were primarily responsible for their own food‐related health protection. EU consumers attributed more responsibility to food chain actors and the authorities.

The analysis compared Russian consumers with consumers in five different EU member states. The results cannot be extended to compare Russian consumers with the entire EU.

An international risk communication policy is likely to be impractical, and should be developed at a national or regional level. Given that Russian consumers take personal responsibility for their own health protection, information needs to be provided to enable them to do so.

To the authors knowledge, this is the first comparative analysis of the determinants of perceptions of effective FRM held by Russian consumers with consumers from within the EU regulatory area.

A survey of European marketing managers showed that product quality and consumer information are seen as the two main consumer issues of the late 1980s. It is marketing management's responsibility to incorporate consumer rights, needs and wants into product offerings and marketing practices, and European managers' willingness to share the responsibility of consumer protection with government and consumer groups is welcomed. The most constructive consumer affairs programmes are reported to be in the areas of product quality, consumer research and information.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate privacy concerns arising from the rapidly increasing advancements and use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the challenges of existing privacy regimes to ensure the on-going protection of an individual’s sensitive private information. The authors illustrate this through a case study of energy smart meters and suggest a novel combination of four solutions to strengthen privacy protection.

The authors illustrate how, through smart meter obtained energy data, home energy providers can use AI to reveal private consumer information such as households’ electrical appliances, their time and frequency of usage, including number and model of appliance. The authors show how this data can further be combined with other data to infer sensitive personal information such as lifestyle and household income due to advances in AI technologies.

The authors highlight data protection and privacy concerns which are not immediately obvious to consumers due to the capabilities of advanced AI technology and its ability to extract sensitive personal information when applied to large overlapping granular data sets.

The authors question the adequacy of existing privacy legislation to protect sensitive inferred consumer data from AI-driven technology. To address this, the authors suggest alternative solutions.

The original value of this paper is that it illustrates new privacy issues brought about by advances in AI, failings in current privacy legislation and implementation and opens the dialog between stakeholders to protect vulnerable consumers.

The purpose of this paper is to offer some reflection on the importance of reliable green claims to encourage sustainable production. The role of market is fundamental. Businesses and consumers are both involved in achieving environmental protection objectives. There is the real risk of the phenomenon of so-called green washing or misleading marketing. The problem arises of verifying the reliability of green claims to prevent competitive elements from become distorting factors of competition.

Based on the analysis of a European programme, the author shows how in Italy there is a dangerous lack of consumer protection. For this reason the European and national authorities have provided that green claims must be true, reliable, verifiable and comparable, but it is necessary that consumers be protected, through a certification system that makes it possible to certify the veracity of green claims. The problem is that a number of certification systems have been adopted in Europe which undermine the competitiveness of the market for green products.

This work aims to identify the tools necessary to make green indications more reliable, but above all to create a common methodology on which to base them. In this direction, companies wishing to advertise the ecological characteristics of their products should be required to provide the supporting demonstrations on the basis of a standard methodology assessing their actual environmental impact.

This work will examine the problem of green washing and the importance of reliable green claims for environmental protection. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the original work of the author and has not been submitted elsewhere for publication.

The four sections to this article have distinct but inter‐related objectives. Part I introduces the concepts, problems and tensions central to an understanding of the product liability debate. These issues recur throughout the article. Part II outlines the development of product liability law in Europe and assesses the impact of the European Directive on Product Liability. The “product liability crisis” in the United States is discussed in Part III, which looks at the law's development and proposals for reform. In Part IV the United States and European positions are compared and the case is made out for a global uniform product liability law which recognises the social responsibility of the producer towards those injured by his products.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has sparked interest in various areas, including marketing. However, this exhilaration is being tempered by growing concerns about the moral and legal implications of using AI in marketing. Although previous research has revealed various ethical and legal issues, such as algorithmic discrimination and data privacy, there are no definitive answers. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating AI’s ethical and legal concerns in marketing and suggesting feasible solutions.

The paper synthesises information from academic articles, industry reports, case studies and legal documents through a thematic literature review. A qualitative analysis approach categorises and interprets ethical and legal challenges and proposes potential solutions.

The findings of this paper raise concerns about ethical and legal challenges related to AI in the marketing area. Ethical concerns related to discrimination, bias, manipulation, job displacement, absence of social interaction, cybersecurity, unintended consequences, environmental impact, privacy and legal issues such as consumer security, responsibility, liability, brand protection, competition law, agreements, data protection, consumer protection and intellectual property rights are discussed in the paper, and their potential solutions are discussed.

Notwithstanding the interesting insights gathered from this investigation of the ethical and legal consequences of AI in marketing, it is important to recognise the limits of this research. Initially, the focus of this study is confined to a review of the most important ethical and legal issues pertaining to AI in marketing. Additional possible repercussions, such as those associated with intellectual property, contracts and licencing, should be investigated more deeply in future studies. Despite the fact that this study gives various answers and best practices for tackling the stated ethical and legal concerns, the viability and efficacy of these solutions may differ depending on the context and industry. Thus, more research and case studies are required to evaluate the applicability and efficacy of these solutions in other circumstances. This research is mostly based on a literature review and may not represent the experiences or opinions of all stakeholders engaged in AI-powered marketing. Further study might involve interviews or surveys with marketing professionals, customers and other key stakeholders to offer a full knowledge of the practical difficulties and solutions. Because of the rapid speed of technical progress, AI’s ethical and regulatory ramifications in marketing are continually increasing. Consequently, this work should be a springboard for more research and continuing conversations on this subject.

This study’s findings have several practical implications for marketing professionals. Emphasising openness and explainability: Marketing professionals should prioritise transparency in their use of AI, ensuring that customers are fully informed about data collection and utilisation for targeted advertising. By promoting openness and explainability, marketers can foster customer trust and avoid the negative consequences of a lack of transparency. Establishing ethical guidelines: Marketing professionals need to develop ethical rules for the creation and implementation of AI-powered marketing strategies. Adhering to ethical principles ensures compliance with legal norms and aligns with the organisation’s values and ideals. Investing in bias detection tools and privacy-enhancing technology: To mitigate risks associated with AI in marketing, marketers should allocate resources to develop and implement bias detection tools and privacy-enhancing technology. These tools can identify and address biases in AI algorithms, safeguard consumer privacy and extract valuable insights from consumer data.

This study’s social implications emphasise the need for a comprehensive approach to address the ethical and legal challenges of AI in marketing. This includes adopting a responsible innovation framework, promoting ethical leadership, using ethical decision-making frameworks and conducting multidisciplinary research. By incorporating these approaches, marketers can navigate the complexities of AI in marketing responsibly, foster an ethical organisational culture, make informed ethical decisions and develop effective solutions. Such practices promote public trust, ensure equitable distribution of benefits and risk, and mitigate potential negative social consequences associated with AI in marketing.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is among the first to explore potential solutions comprehensively. This paper provides a nuanced understanding of the challenges by using a multidisciplinary framework and synthesising various sources. It contributes valuable insights for academia and industry.