1. NEW DIGITAL CONSUMER TRENDS AND CONSUMER PROTECTION RIGHTS CHALLENGES OF CROATIA AND EU IN INFORMATION ECONOMY
- Author
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Marija Boban
- Subjects
ComputingMilieux_LEGALASPECTSOFCOMPUTING ,consumer protection rights ,data processing ,data protection ,information economy ,digital single market ,EU ,legal framework ,personal data, regulation - Abstract
New digital consumer trends are developing with the continuous rise of the information technologies while new information tools for making purchasing decisions emerge providing consumers with an ever wider choice available online 24 hours a day. The new digital products and services have also emerged but together with this new evolution the new privacy and personal data protection challenges have been encountered. Data processing, especially processing of personal data, developed the need for increasing privacy protection with regards to new digital products and services, such as internet of things. This could be done in the framework of the on-going revision of EU data protection framework but also the protection of consumer rights will need to follow the revision in the same context. Action should also be taken in order to protect consumers from unfair contract terms and offer them effective dispute resolution in a global and internet-based context (with special regard for cloud computing services). In addition, the reduced frontier between digital services and products may create legal uncertainty and protections of citizens's privacy with respect to the definition of digital econmy new surroundings. In this paper, the author will present the new emerging digital consumer trends with regulation overview of consumer protection rights in the Republic of Croatia and in the EU as well with emphasis on the possible challenges associated to them. It aims at contributing to the reflection on future policy actions that would improve consumer protection on EU level and it's empowerment which will result with better protection of consumers rights in fast growing digital economy.