OECD cites EnfTech research at Consumer Ministerial 2024

The first ever OECD Consumer Ministerial meeting took place this month in Paris. The event was an opportunity for consumer protection ministers across the bloc to come together to discuss the role consumer policy can play in accelerating digital and green transformation.

Consumer spending accounts for 60% of GDP in OECD countries, yet despite many of them having strong laws to protect them, enforcement is often weak and sometimes nonexistent.  Digital markets exacerbate this and enforcing new laws that tackle the risks of fast moving, often opaque transactions is very challenging.

The EnfTech project’s research recognising the potential of technology in consumer law enforcement to keep up with this pace was cited in the OECD’s preparatory papers for the Ministerial:

“Consumer authorities have also upskilled in digital technologies to keep pace with their increasing business use. Some are experimenting with digital tools that could assist in detecting dark patterns, unfair contract terms, fake reviews, unsafe products and other consumer law breaches”

Protecting and empowering consumers in the digital transition, OECD, October 2024

Policy makers looking at the role of tech in consumer enforcement can learn from the innovations we’ve seen so far:

  • There is no one size fits all institutional framework for the deployment of EnfTech. Gains can be made in all set ups regardless of the level of technological knowledge or development. 

  • There is a technological gap between consumer enforcement practice and practice in private sector enforcement, or financial authorities via SupTech and RegTech

  • AI is spreading fast in the practice of enforcement agencies and is a potentially useful ally, but while it’s top of everyone’s minds, it’s not always the most appropriate choice. 

One thing that is certain is that bringing together national governments and agencies is the only way to enable EnfTech to reach its full potential. 

Given the globalised, digital nature of consumer markets, designing EnfTech in a way that works across borders should be a top priority. This can start with much more systematic, international sharing of practice, skills requirements, data intelligence and standardised database. 

You can read the full EnfTech report here and the OECD paper here.

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EnfTech update: capacity building, AI and new tools in NZ and Peru