Consumer Law & Policy Blog

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Review of the Consumer Protection Regime in the UK launched by Government

The British Government has launched a review of the Consumer Protection Regime in the UK. Consumer protection in the UK is the result of several decades of development responding to many different stimuli explains the Better Regulation Executive, in charge of the Review. In the UK there are over 100 pieces of legislation, which result in an estimated £1bn administrative burden. With the fast pace of market development, and the ever strong position of consumers in the economy, it is now time to think of overhauling the regulatory landscape... A full document reviewing proposed changed should be published in spring 2008.

Report on Consumer Information published

The report is published with a warning that too much information can harm consumers. The report written by the Better Regulation Executive (the new name for Department of Trade and Industry)and the National Consumer Council, was published in November 2007. For more information and the full report, follow this link.

Presidential candidates' votes on 2007 consumer legislation

First, happy New Year and thanks to Deepak for inviting me to take part in the Consumer Law & Policy blog! I am a consumer rights attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and I publish a blog of my own, Caveat Emptor. I have also guest blogged at Consumerist a few times. I look forward to contributing here at CL&P Blog.

Yesterday's post on 2007 consumer legislation inspired me to poke around in the Congressional Record to see how the 2008 presidential candidates--the current legislators, anyway--stood on the consumer legislation Consumerist identified (Open Document Format spreadsheet). After spending about an hour figuring out how the candidates voted, my research shows that none of the candidates seem to care very much about consumer issues.

Dennis Kucinich co-sponsored the Arbitration Fairness Act and the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. John McCain co-sponsored the Internet Tax Freedom Act. Barack Obama co-sponsored the Industrial Bank Holding Company Act (whatever that is). And Hillary Clinton co-sponsored the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act. If co-sponsoring is an expression of a legislator's interest in and desire to be identified with a particular piece of legislation, then this is a pretty disinterested showing, although Kucinich does seem to have a passing interest.

Only the College Cost Reduction and Access Act actually got a roll-call vote in both chambers, and the candidates apparently voted the party line, assuming Democrats favored the act and the Republicans opposed it.

So, based on the candidates' voting history in 2007, it does not look like consumers have much reason to think any of the current legislators will pay much attention to consumer issues if elected. Although perhaps even that would be an improvement over the current climate.

University of Oregon Takes Legal Stand Against RIAA In Downloading Suits

This story in yesterday's New York Times describes how the University of Oregon is standing up for what it believes are its students' privacy and due process rights by refusing to give up the students' identities in suits by the Recording Industry Association of America. The RIAA suits are going after what it claims is unlawful downloading of copyrighted music. Well worth a read.