The United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection are an
influential declaration of best practices in consumer protection
law and policy.
But as they were last amended in 1999, they are now overdue for
an update - not least in areas where advances in technology have
affected consumers, such as access to knowledge, Internet and
telecommunications services, e-commerce, and digital products and
services.
Consumers International (CI), as the global campaigning voice for
consumers, is well placed to make recommendations about what
amendments should be made to address these new and emerging areas
of consumer rights.
This publication - which is a companion volume to a broader set
of amendments developed by CI - explains our reasoning behind those
proposed amendments that particularly affect consumers in the
digital age.
A focus of this volume - and of the Guidelines themselves - is on
how effective consumer laws and policies can benefit consumers in
developing and emerging economies.
As such, in-depth analysis is provided of how the proposed
amendments relate to consumers in India, Brazil and South Africa,
either by reflecting existing best practices in those countries, or
by shining light on problem areas that the proposed amendments
could help address.