ABSTRACT
Advances in information technology now provide consumers around the world with access to new products and services. This chapter considers what, if any, special protections consumers should be entitled to expect with regard to new products and markets in light of past and present understandings of the notion of consumer protection. An analysis of current developments suggests that consumer's entitlements vary considerably among different countries, and over time. In the information economy, social commerce and internet-mediated co-operative production are breaking down the Industrial Revolution distinction between consumer and producer by turning consumers into producers. The need to exercise some control over access to personally identifiable information is a central concern of consumers in the information economy. The bifurcation between the European and American approach to social and economic regulation could not be clearer than in the area of information privacy. In contrast, support for strong consumer protection laws in Europe has resulted in online merchants being held to high standards.
