Digital Consumers and the Law

This book provides a critical analysis of how digitisation affects established
concepts and policies in consumer law. Based on evidence of the actual
experience and problems encountered by consumers in digital markets, the book
offers a ground-breaking study of the main issues arising in relation to the
application of general consumer and sector-specific law. An interdisciplinary
team of researchers from the Centre for the Study of European Contract Law
(CSECL) and the Institute for Information Law (IViR), both University of
Amsterdam, combine their expertise in general consumer and contract law,
telecommunications law, media law, copyright law and privacy law in a joint
effort to point the way to a truly cohesive European Framework for Digital
Consumers and the Law.

Topics in this book include the characteristics of digital content markets and
how they relate to traditional consumer law; consumer concerns, reasonable
expectations and how they are protected by law; the difficult question of the
classification of digital content; legal questions triggered by prosumers and
underage consumers; the feasibility and future of the information approach to
consumer protection; the role of fundamental rights considerations, and the
legal implications of an economy that uses personal data as the new currency.

Digital Consumers and the Law is an important analysis for all those
interested or involved in the regulation of digital content markets. With its
comprehensive discussion of a wide range of fundamental as well as
praxis-oriented questions, it is an essential read for academics, policy
makers, members of the content industry as well as consumer representatives.