Consumer law is worthy of greater academic attention at a time when many new questions arise and old ones need new answers. This unique handbook takes the reader on a journey through existing literature, research questions and methods. It builds on the state of the art to offer a springboard for jumping to the heart of contemporary issues and equips researchers with a starter’s kit to weave together rich traditions, ranging from socio-economics to behavioural analysis.
Businesses are rushing to collect personal data to fuel surging demand. Data enthusiasts claim personal information that's obtained from the commercial internet, including mobile platforms, social networks, cloud computing, and connected devices, will unlock path-breaking innovation, including advanced data security. By contrast, regulators and activists contend that corporate data practices too often disempower consumers by creating privacy harms and related problems. As the Internet of Things matures and facial recognition, predictive analytics, big data, and wearable tracking grow in power, scale, and scope, a controversial ecosystem will exacerbate the acrimony over commercial data capture and analysis. The only productive way forward is to get a grip on the key problems right now and change the conversation. That's exactly what Jules Polonetsky, Omer Tene, and Evan Selinger do. They bring together diverse views from leading academics, business leaders, and policymakers to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the new data economy.
The Routledge Handbook of Consumer Protection and Behaviour in Energy Markets provides a comprehensive study of consumer protection and consumer behaviour in selected jurisdictions worldwide. Each chapter is written by experts and provides a contemporary overview of national consumer protection and policy developments in the energy sector. Today energy has become an essential factor in ensuring the socio-economic development of any country and improving the quality of life of society and is now an essential element of life for everyone. The energy market has become a competitive market, based on the assumption that generation and sale of energy is not a natural monopoly and that market mechanisms, in particular competition between energy companies, are the best way to reduce prices and improve customer service. The purchase of energy is inextricably linked with its distribution from the producer to the purchaser. The book shows that well-functioning energy markets need informed and well protected consumers, who can benefit from competition and transparent offers. They are free to choose the most competitive providers, and know their rights, with access to effective means of redress. Given that the energy market has a specific, technical nature, the book analyses the energy market within the scope of free market principles, with a focus on the protection of the weaker party to the contract: the consumer. In addition, consumers can also play an active part of the clean energy transition.
Of all industries in the United States, the food industry must in fact be the most regulated by law. If it is not, its competition for this distinction goes unnoticed. All phases of the food industry are subjected to some control by law, beginning with the land food is grown on and the oceans from which it is harvested. Seed and plant stock are sometimes subjected to control such as to the nutritional value of the foods they produce. Acreages of agricultural crops, the quantities of foods to be produced, are regulated. As foods are produced, whether from plants or animals, the substances applied to increase yields or provide protection from pests are controlled to insure safe use. As foods enter and pass through the huge marketing system they are scrutinized from beginning to end by regulatory agents operating under authority of food laws. Those foods which are transformed through various technologies into today's thousands of consumer products are watched carefully to insure the appropriateness and safety of added ingredients, not all of which are natural, and the adequacy of processing, packaging and storage. Finally, the representation of foods to consumers through labeling and advertising is controlled to make sure it is accurate and sufficiently informative.