Digital Rights
Every day, more than 5.3 billion people use the internet, generating vast amounts of data and benefiting from its unparalleled ability to connect, communicate and engage in commerce. Yet only a fraction of consumers are aware – and can control – how their information is collected, used and protected. Furthermore, only 59% of countries have laws covering online consumer protection.
Our vision is that consumer rights in the physical world are reflected, upheld and strengthened in digital products, services and environments. Consumers deserve digital experiences that are inclusive, safe, fair and sustainable. To achieve this, we need effective data policy and governance that embeds consumer rights and principles from the outset. Trust in the digital economy must be improved by reducing exposure to harm and eliminating manipulative online practices designed to deceive consumers and adversely influence their decisions. Innovation should be responsible and in the public interest, empowering consumers to be more efficient, live more sustainably and exercise their rights. This can only be achieved through multistakeholder collaboration.
We work with organisations that subscribe to this vision. Our work spans data governance, digital public infrastructure, financial services, e-commerce and more. Together, we create impactful campaigns, advocate for robust policies, gather compelling evidence and amplify the consumer voice on the global stage.
Trusted Digital Economies
With digital tools, platforms and systems increasingly underpinning all aspects of consumer experiences, it is paramount that approaches to building trust take a holistic view. For digital economies to thrive, we need robust systems that promote and build trust in privacy, security, transparency and information. Our programme addresses this in several ways.
Anti-Scams
First is bringing together the right stakeholders to effect change. Our Scams Policy Resilience Initiative brings together our Members with enforcement agencies and businesses to improve responses to scams across detection, prevention and victim support. Consumers lost an estimated $1 trillion – 1% of global GDP – to scams in 2023, and reducing consumer exposure to scams is essential to a functioning and prospering commercial online environment.
Digital Public Infrastructure
Secondly, we work to apply consumer-centric principles to emerging platforms and policy. Digital provision of public services through digital public infrastructure (DPI) is increasingly seen as a development accelerator, as well as an opportunity to include and enfranchise consumers. Our work identifies actionable and evidence-based recommendations for safe and inclusive DPI and equips our Members with the knowledge and tools to advocate at a local level.
Influencers
Finally, we produce insight into the digital consumer experience and push for interconnected actions across stakeholders. Digital business models have seen consumer engagement with traditional information sources decline, even while the consumer right to trustworthy and accurate information remains. Reform is needed to ensure the alternatives – such as online reviews and influencers – are fit for purpose and that vulnerable individuals are protected. Here we foster collaboration with businesses to ensure the safety and sustainability of advice that consumers rely on.
Effective data governance
Data is the bedrock of the digital economy. For consumers, effective data governance ensures that their personal data is collected and processed in compliance with their rights. Progress to achieve this has been made at the local level, but the global landscape remains a patchwork of policies.
As new frameworks for cross-border data flows are proposed, we work with key decision makers and industry leaders to identify and remove barriers preventing consumers from accessing and exercising their rights. Our efforts focus on ensuring that pro-business concepts such as interoperability can also apply to and work for consumers.
Responsible emerging technologies
The adage goes that technology moves faster than regulation. To bridge this gap, we organise campaigns to help Members build knowledge of the capabilities and risks of emerging technology. We also raise awareness on how consumer protection frameworks can be used to address new policy challenges in the tech world.
Fair and Responsible AI for Consumers
In response to heightened interest in AI, in 2024 we coordinated a global exercise among our Members to test generative AI chatbots. Consumer advocates in over 30 countries assessed these new tools using trust measures we designed, reporting positive and intuitive experiences but also uncovering several instances where safeguards could be strengthened. As part of our programme for World Consumer Rights Day, we shared the results with a community of more than 100 organisations committed to consumer protection and provided them with deep dives on responsible data policy and the challenges of deepfakes, scams and misinformation.
Upcoming
Over the coming months our top digital rights news includes:
- Release of our Global Business Statement to Stop Scams, September 2024
- Bringing our insights on consumer-centric digital infrastructure to the G20 Digital Ministerial Meeting, 14 September 2024
- Launch of our core findings across our interoperability work, September – October 2024
- First multistakeholder meeting of our Consumer Coalition to Stop Scams with select Members and businesses, October 2024
Leaders across government, business, civil society and academia can find out more about our digital rights work by contacting impact@constint.org.