Digital Rights
Every day, more than 5.3 billion people use the internet. Yet only a fraction of consumers are aware – and can control – how their information is collected, used and protected. And 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 online. 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. Innovation should empower consumers to be more efficient, live more sustainably and exercise their rights.
This can only be achieved through multi-stakeholder collaboration. We work with organisations that support 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
We bring together the right stakeholders to effect change. Our Consumer Coalition to Stop Scams 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
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. This is reflected in our T20 Policy Brief, which has already influenced the T20 Communiqué, helping to shape key discussions on digital inclusion and consumer rights.
Influencers
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.
Latest News
Fair and responsible AI for consumers
Over 100 consumer organisations join our global World Consumer Rights Day campaign, where we released new insight into the consumer experience of generative AI.
Consumer Coalition to Stop Scams
Our Consumer Coalition to Stop Scams met for its second meeting in late September, where participants gathered to map out the Coalition’s priorities for 2025. To meet the growing threat online scams pose to consumers and platforms, the group will action a set of Scam Policy Resilience Initiatives (SPRIs) and develop a reporting mechanism for their implementation.
To find out more or join us, contact impact@consint.org.
A consumer-centric approach for inclusion in Digital Public Infrastructures
We are driving digital consumer rights at the G20 through the Think20 and other processes. We shared recommendations on the value of consumer-centric Digital Public Infrastructure, which we were pleased to see reflected in the T20 Brasil 2024 Communiqué.
Global Moments on our Calendar
In the coming months we will bring the voice of consumer organisations around the world to:
- OECD Consumer Policy Ministerial Meeting, 08-09 October
- Global Digital Public Infrastructure Summit, 1-3 October
- Global Privacy Assembly, 28 October-01 November.
- United Nations World Data Forum, 12 November
- MozFest, 20-21 November
To connect or collaborate, contact impact@consint.org.
Join us
Consumers International works with our Members around the world, as well as a diverse network of partners, to deliver progress for inclusive, safe, fair, and sustainable digital technologies and platforms.
Leaders across government, business, civil society and academia can find out more about our digital rights work by contacting impact@constint.org.