D. Bruce Johnsen of George Mason has written A Closer Look at Payment Cards. Here is the abstract: This essay takes a closer look at the U.S. payment card system, primarily debit cards. I examine the bundle of transactional services this and other types of payment cards provide. My goal, in large part, is to […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
Frank A. Pasquale III of Maryland has written Democratizing Higher Education: Defending and Extending Income-Based Repayment Programs, Loyola Consumer Law Review (Forthcoming). Here is the abstract: This article addresses many critiques of income-based repayment programs for student loan debt. These programs are not helping many of the students they were designed to aid. Their terms […]
by Jeff Sovern Gregory Gauthier has pointed out that Starbucks has changed its arbitration clause and wonders why. The old version is described here. The new version is somewhat less onerous. For example, it permits the arbitration to be "held in a reasonably convenient location in the state in which you reside or at another mutually agreed […]
David Adam Friedman of Willamette has written Refining Advertising Regulation. Here's the abstract: Why did the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) aggressively pursue Volkswagen’s claims about “clean-diesel” technology, while ignoring widespread practices like deceptive discount pricing? Why did the FTC offer formal guidance to industry about “native advertising,” but only casual guidance to consumers about widely-used, […]
Brigitta Lurger of Graz and four co-authors have written Consumer Decisions Under High Information Load: How Can Legal Rules Improve Search Behavior and Decision Quality?. Here's the abstract: EU consumer protection legislation is designed to enable consumers to make "good" contract decisions in the market place. This legislation heavily relies on the model of rational […]
Danielle Keats Citron of Maryland, Yale and Stanford has written Privacy Enforcement Pioneers: The Role of State Attorneys General in the Development of Privacy Law, Forthcoming in the Notre Dame Law Review, Here's the abstract: Accounts of privacy law have focused on legislation, federal agencies, and the self-regulation of privacy professionals. Crucial agents of regulatory […]
Here. A heart-breaking story.
by Jeff Sovern Some auto dealers advertise and sell "certified" used cars. The word "certified" conveys that the car has gone through a process of inspection and that any problems have been remedied. At least, that's how I understand it. Sometimes, however, these certified cars have been recalled for safety defects which have not been repaired. The FTC has reached […]
Natali Helberger of the University of Amsterdam – Institute for Information Law has written Profiling and Targeting Consumers in the Internet of Things – A New Challenge for Consumer Law. Here is the abstract: What does the shift from buying ‘things’ to buying ‘smart things’ imlies for consumers and consumer protection law and policy? The […]