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Unfair Contract Terms in the Digital Age: The Challenge of Protecting European Consumers in the Online Marketplace

Unfair Contract Terms in the Digital Age: The Challenge of Protecting European Consumers in the Online Marketplace

Author: Caterina Gardiner
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781800886162
Published In: June 2022
Format: Hardback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

List Price: RM694.98

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Description
Contents

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Since the introduction of the European Unfair Contract Terms Directive (UCTD), there have been far-reaching developments in the digital landscape which have significantly altered the nature of consumer contracts. This timely book examines the changes that have taken place since the advent of the UCTD and analyses the challenges that they pose for consumers entering online standard form contracts today.

Illuminating the ways in which digital technology has revolutionised markets and caused a growing number of traders to transition to online business models, Unfair Contract Terms in the Digital Age assesses how the modern contracting landscape adversely impacts consumers. Chapters explore the manifold risks of digitalisation, addressing issues from the lack of transparency of website terms and conditions to the new reach of mass market operators exerting control over European consumers. Against the backdrop of this digital transformation, the book evaluates the key features of the UCTD, questioning whether the Directive can adequately protect Europe’s online consumers and counter the perils of unfair terms in standard form contracts.

This cutting-edge book is an invaluable resource for scholars and students of consumer law, regulation, and public policy. Policy-makers in EU institutions will also benefit from its assessment of unfair terms law in the digital era.

Introduction to Unfair Contract Terms in the Digital Age

PART I: STANDARD FORM CONTRACTS AND ‘UNFAIRNESS’ UNDER THE UCTD

1. Standard form consumer contracts: the background and context

2. The UCTD: background and scope

3. Unfairness under the UCTD and recommendations for a more uniform European Standard

PART II: THE UCTD AND TRANSPARENCY IN ONLINE CONTRACTS

4. The transparency principle of the UCTD

5. Transparency and the online consumer

PART III: ENFORCEMENT UNDER THE UCTD AND SUGGESTIONS FOR A REVISED EU-LEVEL APPROACH

6. Enforcement under the UCTD: challenges and limitations

7. The CPC Network and a positive enforcement approach

Bibliography