Smartphone apps deliberately apply behavioral design, including algorithms sensing human behavior and personalized design elements affecting it. Untransparent behavioral design exploits an information asymmetry between app vendors and consumers and can lead to negative effects on consumers such...

This study investigates how neuromarketing practices intersect with consumer privacy regulation in California, with particular attention to the 2024 Senate Bill 1223 (SB 1223), which amends the CCPA/CPRA to explicitly define "neural data." By examining corporate strategies and regulatory...

The European Central Bank's interest rate hikes since July 2022 have been passed on to customers by banks on credit markets to a much greater extent than on deposit markets. As a result, banks' net interest margins have risen extraordinarily sharply. An analysis of the interest rate pass-through...

Food labels are supposed to quickly inform consumers about the nutritional values of products. We provide evidence that in a system where labels are voluntary, they are systematically distorted. The probability of finding a label on a product of the category with the highest nutritional value is...

This paper deals with the problem of how the risk perception among retail customers is affected by the consumer protection regulation on the financial market. Through a questionnaire survey, we have measured the effect of selected consumer protection measures on banking or investment decisions...

Smartphone app designers often use behavioral design to influence users, increase sales, and boost advertising revenue. Behavioral design relies on elements ranging from app appearance to black-box algorithms and personalization. It commonly exploits behavioral biases, such as the lack of...

The recent expansion of digital financial products leads to severe consumer protection issues such as fraud and scams. As these potentially decrease trust in digital services, especially in developing countries, avoiding victimization has become an important policy objective. In an online...

We quantify the prevalence of undisclosed influencer posts on Twitter across a large set of brands based on a unique data set of over 100 million posts. We develop a novel method to detect undisclosed influencer posts and find that 96% of influencer posts are not disclosed as such. Despite...

Celsius Network was a crypto lending giant managing nearly USD 12 billion and aggressively courting EU crypto enthusiasts. More than two years after it entered bankruptcy, many former clients regret the day they signed up with the failed platform. The Celsius clawback lawsuits in the US against...

Smartphone apps deliberately apply behavioral design, including algorithms sensing human behavior and personalized design elements affecting it. Untransparent behavioral design exploits an information asymmetry between app vendors and consumers and can lead to negative effects on consumers such...

Privacy regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation aim to empower consumers with greater transparency and control over their personal data. In response, firms may exercise price discrimination in the form of versioning. This paper studies how these two aspects of privacy regulation...

Unter der neuen US-Regierung zeichnet sich ein Wandel im Verbraucherschutz ab. Der Fokus liegt auf Marktmechanismen und dem Abbau regulatorischer Vorgaben. Eine mögliche Folge sind intransparente Preismodelle. Studien zeigen, dass diese Verbraucher:innen systematisch zu höheren Ausgaben...

The Commissioner-designate made a number of commitments in his written and oral responses. These are highlighted in this document, which has been produced to support Parliament's scrutiny of the Commission over the course of the 2024-2029 term, including through the Committees' annual structured...

The Commissioner-designate made a number of commitments in his written and oral responses. These are highlighted in this document, which has been produced to support Parliament's scrutiny of the Commission over the course of the 2024-2029 term, including through the Committees' annual structured...

Tackling greenwashing is an issue where human rights, consumer rights and climate goals align. Companies use greenwashing to convince people to buy products that are not always as environmentally friendly as they claim to be. They mislead consumers and harm the environment. This report shows how...

Tackling greenwashing is an issue where human rights, consumer rights and climate goals align. Companies use greenwashing to convince people to buy products that are not always as environmentally friendly as they claim to be. They mislead consumers and harm the environment. This report shows how...

Celsius Network was a crypto lending giant managing nearly USD 12 billion and aggressively courting EU crypto enthusiasts. More than two years after it entered bankruptcy, many former clients regret the day they signed up with the failed platform. The Celsius clawback lawsuits in the US against...

In 2024, the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System surpassed all previous records in protecting consumers from dangerous products. The system recorded a record-high 4,137 alerts, almost doubling the notifications since 2022 and confirming an upward trend from the previous year. The Commission...

In light of the data provided and taking under consideration the classification as toxic for reproduction Cat. 2, the SCCS considers micron-sized particulate Silver not safe at concentrations up to 0.2 % in rinse-off and 0.3 % in leave-on cosmetic products when used alone or in combination....

This document highlights major advancements in financial inclusion, especially with the PIX payment system. However, financial consumers are increasingly at risk from fraud, scams, over-indebtedness, and mis-sold bundled insurance products. It calls for a structured approach to reforming the...

This study's objective is to test the impact of misleading price reduction presentation practices on consumer choices. Key findings - The mapping of methods in which e-commerce platforms present discounts identified that price reductions were displayed in ways which are likely to confuse or...

This study's objective is to test the impact of misleading price reduction presentation practices on consumer choices. Key findings - The mapping of methods in which e-commerce platforms present discounts identified that price reductions were displayed in ways which are likely to confuse or...

Chapter 1: Branding, Consumerism, and Contemporary Marketing: A Critical Perspective Ayantunji Gbadamosi -- Chapter 2: Brands and Psychological Influences on Consumer Behaviour Ayantunji Gbadamosi Kareem Folohunso, Sani -- Chapter 3: Consumers, identity, and brand personality Vish Maheshwari,...

This paper discusses first the role of mobile money accounts to enhance financial inclusion towards vulnerable groups in developing countries in the light of recent empirical evidence. Second, we explore the role of regulation to address risks to consumers and the financial system arising from...

Social media platforms mediate and regulate how influencers engage in monetisation practices. In this social-legal paper we examine one form of monetisation, influencer marketing, to understand how platform policies and interfaces shape commercial content for influencers. We situate our inquiry...

Food labels are supposed to quickly inform consumers about the nutritional values of products. We provide evidence that in a system where labels are voluntary, they are systematically distorted. The probability of finding a label on a product of the category with the highest nutritional value is...