S. Consumer Law

This course explores legal and policy considerations related to consumer protection and consumer behavior in the marketplace. The approach is transactional and theoretical and interrogates the justification for rules that govern existing and emerging types of disputes between retail consumers of goods and services, and sellers, through caselaw and administrative actions. The role of agencies including the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the FDA will be considered. Emerging problems related to diminishing privacy options, coercive consent mechanisms, intrusive behavioral marketing algorithms, and opaque sales techniques applying artificial intelligence, are framed within the context of conventional common law and statutory efforts to curb dishonest billing, inaccurate credit reporting and oppressive debt collection. The class examines consumer law from multiple viewpoints, including regulated businesses and those of policymakers who are charged with protecting the public interest.