Everyday around the world, there is a hidden community of civil servants working to shield consumers from scams, dangerous products, or unfair market practices. They are not your usual comic books heroes, but a community of consumer protection authorities, competition watchdogs, market surveillance experts, and customs officers. They are the guardians of fair and safe markets; yet their work often goes unnoticed.
Fighting the forces of deception
These authorities do not simply watch from the sidelines. Together with consumer groups (such as BEUC and its members), they gather evidence of wrongdoing by companies, conduct investigations and take action.
Their powers can range from imposing fines to even shutting non-compliant businesses down.
Take the example of wish.com. Back in 2021, the French consumer protection authority (DGCCRF) found out that the platform was selling dangerous products and was ignoring warnings from the authorities. In an unprecedented move, the DGCCRF delisted Wish from search engines.
And now that e-commerce is booming in Europe and more and more unsafe products are flooding marketplaces, European authorities are uniting in their efforts to investigate problematic marketplaces such as TEMU. Following calls from consumer organisations, authorities are now investigating TEMU for its compliance with EU rules. They are empowered to urge the company to change its practices and even issue big fines. This type of investigation could ensure that online marketplaces stop selling illegal products to consumers.
Strength in unity, the power of global cooperation
When EU authorities cooperate, they can be more efficient. Pooling resources across borders allows for stronger investigation, quicker enforcement, and harmonised sanctions can be applied from one EU country to another.
Consumers are evolving in a global market which knows no borders. They are bombarded with offers from sellers located abroad. This makes enforcement tricky: how can EU regulators hold foreign businesses accountable when they are operating outside of their jurisdiction?
To truly tackle global threats made to consumers, they must level up.
A call for global alliances
Authorities can already count on the support of the international network of consumer protection authorities, ICPEN (the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network), which facilitates intelligence-sharing, joint enforcement actions, and coordinated consumer awareness campaigns. However, a more structured, formal global cooperation with specific countries and a broader range of authorities would allow for faster responses, more efficient enforcement against fraudulent or unsafe practices.
For instance, closer collaboration between the EU and UK authorities on competition and product safety matters would be highly beneficial. Consumers on both sides of the Channel are facing identical challenges and are targeted by similar traders. In an ideal world, United States and EU regulators could work hand in hand to combat the flood of illegal and unsafe products sold by online marketplaces located outside of their territories, such as Shein.
This tsunami of small packages is slipping through customs, as authorities are overwhelmed and cannot stop dangerous and environmentally harmful products at the border.
Joint strategies between the EU and U.S. authorities to exchange about how they want to reform their customs and market surveillance systems could be a game-changer.
A global shield for consumers
Despite geopolitical tensions, governments have a duty to protect consumers. Empowering consumer protection authorities with stronger global cooperation isn’t just a policy choice, it’s a necessity. A world where these hidden heroes can cooperate across borders is a world where consumers are safer, markets are fairer, and businesses are held accountable no matter where they operate.
It’s time to give our consumer protection champions the global alliances they need to win the fight for fairness, because even superheroes need a league to take on their biggest challenges.