Author Archives: Jeff Sovern

WaPo reports congressional deal on consumer online privacy bill

Here (behind paywall). According to the article, the bill would preempt state privacy laws and provide for a private cause of action. The bill enjoys support from Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, and House Energy and Commerce Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican. Whether it will pass in a presidential election year […]

Becher & Zarsky Article on using the law of mistake to attack digital contracts

Samuel Becher of the Victoria University of Wellington and Tal Zarsky of the University of Haifa have written Big Mistake(s), forthcoming in the Florida Law Review. Here’s the abstract: The digital age has brought the imbalance of power between prominent firms and individual consumers to the forefront. Despite their proclamations of upholding democratic values and […]

Andrea Boyack article on abusive contract terms in online terms and conditions

Andrea J. Boyack of Missouri has written Abuse of Contract: Boilerplate Erasure of Consumer Counterparty Rights, Iowa Law Review, Forthcoming. Here’s the abstract: Contract law and the new Restatement of the Law of Consumer Contracts generally treats the entirety of the company’s boilerplate as presumptively binding. Entrusting the content of consumer contracts to companies creates a […]

Online/In-Person Forum on the National Realtors Association Settlement, Including Consumer Protection Issues, at Minnesota

We received the following announcement: Join us in a discussion from diverse perspectives on how the National Association of Realtors settlement will affect the real estate industry Friday, April 12, 2024 | 12:30 to 4 pm (CT) Walter F. Mondale Hall Room 30, Sub-plaza (In-person) 229 19th Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota In-person – or – […]

Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Use of Unfairness to Regulate Discriminatory Conduct: A Discussion of the Consumer and Industry Perspectives

Here. I spoke about my recent article, Is Discrimination Unfair?, on the podcast.

Does the industry now support paternalism?

Policy battles over consumer protection often hinge on what’s better for consumers. That’s because consumer advocates often call for reforms that will aid consumers while the industry, which presumably doesn’t want to oppose proposals based simply on the position that they will cut into industry profits, instead attacks the claim that the reforms will actually […]

Study finds cybersecurity doesn’t have significant impact on identity theft

A. Oloyede, I. Ajibade, C. Obunadike, A. Phillips, O. Shittu, E. Taiwo, all of Austin Peay State University, and S. Kizor-Akaraiwe of the University of Washington have written A Review of Cybersecurity as an Effective Tool for Fighting Identity Theft across United States, 12 International Journal on Cybernetics and Informatics, No.5, (October 2023). Here is […]

Richard Frankel Empirical Study of How Businesses Responded to Mass Arbitration

Richard Frankel of Drexel has written Fighting Mass Arbitration: An Empirical Study of the Corporate Response to Mass Arbitration and Its Implications for the Federal Arbitration Act. Here’s the abstract: Over the last forty years, corporations have increasingly inserted mandatory arbitration provisions into their consumer and employment contracts. Most prominently, and with the Supreme Court’s blessing, […]

NACA Paid Summer Consumer Law Fellowship, Including for 1Ls

We received the following announcement: The National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) is pleased to announce its first annual Summer Consumer Law Fellowship Project. The Fellowship will pay a $5,000 stipend to at least five (5) students who spend the summer months working for a NACA member non-profit, legal-aid, or private consumer law firm on […]