252 research outputs found

    In the wind of change: Ten years of the EU consumer credit framework

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    This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Paris Legal Publishers via the link in this recor

    Who calls the tune? Stock taking of behavioural consumer protection in Europe

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    This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Edward Elgar via the DOI in this record.In their search for increased effectiveness of policy instruments, European and national policymakers increasingly show interest in behavioural research, as a source for insights on the impact of various policy measures on consumer behaviour. However, policymakers rarely comprehensively follow recommendation of behavioural researchers, due to the need to account for interests other than those of consumers or the disbelief in their applicability and effectiveness. This Chapter discusses to what extent policymakers base their policies on the findings of consumer behaviour research and whether their efforts appear to contribute to increasing the effectiveness of consumer protection measures. The author argues that it may be inappropriate to draw any conclusions as to the soundness of behavioural research as a basis for policymaking from the shortcomings of current measures allegedly relying on its findings, where such measures have implemented behavioural recommendations only partially, due to either normative or factual reasons. Further, the author appeals for more transparency in policymaking based on behavioural insights, particularly the clarification of why policymakers veer away from recommendations based on behavioural research. The impact that behavioural research has had in European and national policymaking is analysed in the area of consumer protection relating to sustainable and healthy consumption. Among the types of policy interventions considered in this Chapter are information obligations (eco-labelling and health claims, but also their information design), measures increasing consumers’ trust (right of withdrawal and trustmarks), as well as regulatory measures (consumer education, tax policies and product bans)

    Will the imaginary active consumers please stand up? Case note to Walbusch Walter Busch (C-430/17)

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    This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this recordThe questions posed to the Court of Justice of the EU in the recent case of Walbusch Walter Busch asked what qualifies as the means of communication with a limited space or time to display the information and how detailed the disclosure on the right of withdrawal needs to be on such a medium. The judgment in this case had to strike a balance between not limiting traders’ opportunities to use technological advances to reach consumers and one of the main objectives of consumer protection: ensuring consumers have a chance to make fully informed transactional decisions

    Blurred Lines: Between Formal and Substantive Transparency in Consumer Credit Contracts

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    This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Kluwer Law InternationalDirective 2008/48/EC aims to guarantee a high level of consumer protection and comparability of consumer credit offers, protecting consumers against over-indebtedness. In light of the ongoing review of this directive, it is important to consider whether the principle of transparency could not play a bigger role in ensuring that consumers are provided with understandable consumer credit information. The authors argue, therefore, that the assessment of the credit information’s transparency should go beyond a mere compliance check with formal aspects of transparency, i.e. whether consumers had access to the information and whether it was legible. At least an equal amount of consideration should be paid to aspects of the substantive transparency, i.e. whether consumers ultimately understood the information. Moreover, the European Commission should strengthen the consumer credit transparency toolbox by explaining the meaning and significance of various transparency requirements, and re-check the effectiveness of the standardised credit information.NWO - Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Researc

    The Consumer Rights Directive

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    The Transparent Trap: A Multidisciplinary Perspective on the Design of Transparent Online Disclosures in the EU

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    This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via the DOI in this record.In its drive to prevent market failures and safeguard consumers, the European legislator has embraced the information approach. In the context of online trade, this requires online traders to disclose ever-growing amounts of information to consumers regarding contract terms, the handling of their personal information, and the use of cookies on the trader’s website, to name just a few of the areas involved. However, whilst adopting substantive information obligations for traders, the European legislator still tends to disregard scholarship on effective information design. This paper recommends empirically tested, interdisciplinary criteria for the design of effective disclosures online, with a focus on their application in the EU. Without clear guidance as to how disclosures should be formulated, traders are left open to accidental or purposeful obfuscation.This research is funded by the DFG (German Research Foundation; project number: WU 824/1-1). It is part of the research project “The ABC of Online Disclosure Duties. Towards a More Uniform Assessment of the Transparency of Consumer Information in Europe” funded by the DFG and the NWO, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research under the Open Research Area for the Social Sciences funding program. We sincerely thank Marco Loos and Mia Junuzović, who are also participating in this project, as well as the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions. We also thank participants of workshops where we presented this paper for their feedback. All authors contributed equally to the paper

    Face and emotion recognition on commercial property under EU data protection law

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    This paper integrates and cuts through domains of privacy law and biometrics. Specifically, this paper presents a legal analysis on the use of Automated Facial Recognition Systems (the AFRS) in commercial (retail store) settings within the European Union data protection framework. The AFRS is a typical instance of biometric technologies, where a distributed system of dozens of low-cost cameras uses psychological states, sociodemographic characteristics, and identity recognition algorithms on thousands of passers-by and customers. Current use cases and theoretical possibilities are discussed due to the technology’s potential of becoming a substantial privacy issue. First, this paper introduces the AFRS and EU data protection law. This is followed by an analysis of European Data protection law and its application in relation to the use of the AFRS, including requirements concerning data quality and legitimate processing of personal data, which, finally, leads to an overview of measures that traders can take to comply with data protection law, including by means of information, consent, and anonymization
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