Category: Consumer rights
Life inside a video game: the hidden costs of playing
Confusing virtual currencies are increasingly common in video games, making it hard for consumers to keep up with how much they spend. Consumer law is not clear enough, and video game companies take advantage of it. The EU is working...
Not all heroes wear capes: why consumer protection authorities need global cooperation
On March 15, we celebrate World Consumer Rights Day. We take this opportunity to call for stronger global cooperation to enhance the power of consumer protection authorities. BEUC’s Head of International, Léa Auffret, unmasks these heroes of consumer protection and...
Online reviews: can we trust what we see?
Are the online reviews you are seeing really written by customers? In today’s digital marketplace, fake reviews are a growing problem, designed to mislead shoppers into buying subpar products. Petra Cakovska, from S.O.S Poprad, BEUC's Slovak member, tells you how...
Six things I’ve learned advocating for European consumers
After 17 years as the Director General of BEUC – The European Consumer Organisation – Monique Goyens bows out this year for a well-deserved retirement. She looks back at her career and shares a few thoughts about advocating for consumers'...
Green Santa is coming to town – a year clamping down on greenwashing
BEUC has been involved in fighting greenwashing for many years and 2023 was the year where we stepped up our game. We expanded our effort cross-teams, looking at different areas of consumers’ lives and how we can make them free...
Sandra Lima, BEUC Consumer Rights Team, BEUC Consumer Redress and Enforcement Team, BEUC Sustainability Team and BEUC Food Team /
20 December 2023
Car electrification must go hand-in-hand with promoting alternatives to car use
Consumers must be able to break out of a mobility system that fundamentally relies on fossil fuels. Both car electrification as well as the promotion of alternatives to car use are needed here.
Bursting the crypto bubble – why it’s time to act against social media platforms
The misleading promotion of crypto is rife on social media. BEUC's Andrew Canning explains why it's time to take action against the platforms in order to protect consumers.
Why 2023 will be the year of consumer rights enforcement
Some big changes are coming in 2023 that mean that it might be remembered as the year of consumer law enforcement - Alexandre Biard explains more.
It’s time for consumers to finally enjoy their rights when travelling
This summer, while helping many of my colleagues who were impacted by last-minute flight cancellations during another summer of travel chaos, I realised that passenger rights issues are like a grumpy old uncle we see every holiday but are never...
Rules for sustainable products are one side of the coin. Enforcing them is the other.
It is encouraging for consumers that the EU is working on rules to make products sustainable by design. But if policymakers are serious about delivering, they should not forget about the “on the ground” aspect, argues BEUC’s Monique Goyens. This...