The Responsible Consumer in the Digital Age - International and Nordic Perspectives on Consumer Financial Protection

Consumer protection law is one of the most dynamic fields of study and practice due to continuous and fast-paced innovations concerning the delivery of products and performance of services offered to consumers. This is even more true with respect to the financial sector. The financial crisis emphasized the need for more effective consumer protection measures given the increasing sophistication and complexity of financial products. However, the question is whether the normative changes adopted after the mortgage credit crunch are able to adapt to the pace of financial innovation and digitalization.

The current perspective is that providing consumers with more information and knowledge enables them to fully participate in financial markets and to properly comprehend the novel products and services facilitated by digitalization. Thus, the burden of adequate protection is placed by legislators on consumers themselves, who are expected to be both financially literate and responsible. It is the introduction of a more stringent term than that of a diligent or average consumer with which consumer law operated so far and it marks a significant shift in the manner in which consumer protection is regarded altogether.

The previous attitude towards consumer protection, which by some have been regarded as “over-paternalistic”, is being replaced with a “self-help” approach. The consumer is deemed better able to discern and navigate between fast paced changes and technological advances of the digital age as long as he/she is provided with sufficient information, although, in hindsight, not even professionals were able to fully understand, anticipate and duly respond to the previous financial crisis. Moreover, consumers are to suffer the consequences of the contracts they entered into without properly understanding their risks or their long term effects, as professional liability and state/agency protection are decreased to a minimum.

The conference aims to provide a forum where leading academics and practitioners, researchers, and enforcement officials from multiple jurisdictions join to present and discuss the most recent trends and challenges related to consumer financial protection in the digital age, as they stem from the latest normative developments and court cases.

The conference has a strong focus and emphasis on Nordic perspectives and solutions. Nordic markets have their particularities and Nordic countries adopt joint solutions, which are not sufficiently advertised to other jurisdictions. The conference panels and the ‘Nordic Round Table’ event will make these perspectives widely known and will facilitate dialogue and share of ideas between Nordic jurisdictions and the rest of the world.

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