The Centre for the Study of European Contract Law (CSECL) and the Institute for Information Law (IVIR) have written an interim and a final report for the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers, as part of a joint research project ‘the legal framework for digital content services for consumers'.

The consumption of digital content becomes an integral part of the daily life of Europe's digital consumers of all ages, professions and levels of experience. More and more digital services serve consumers' demand for information, education, entertainment and communication: music downloads, online gaming, online publishing and the purchase of e-books, subscription to podcasts, webcast and streaming services, network sites like Facebook, et cetera. However, what is the legal position of the digital consumer in the event that anything goes wrong: videos that won't play, ebooks that cannot be copied, pieces of music that collect personal information about the consumer? The regulation of these services raises many questions. How can consumer interests be protected on the market for online content services? Are consumer protection rules regarding offline services equally applicable to digital services online, or is there a need for additional (European) legislation? With the help of a network of international experts, CSECL and IVIR researchers will draft a wide-ranging legal-comparative report on the topic and will present policy recommendations of how to guarantee consumers an adequate level of legal protection when purchasing digital services online.

Interim and final report

These reports are prepared for the European Commission and made available here with the European Commission’s permission. Report 1 is the interim report containing country reports, Report 3 is the final report. The here not reproduced Report 2 was a (less extensive) draft for the final report.

REPORT 1; interim report

Comparative analysis of the applicable legal frameworks and suggestions for the contours of a model system of consumer protection in relation to digital content services

Country reports by:

- Finland Prof. Dr. J. Laine (Helsinki University of Technology, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Espoo)

- France Prof. Dr. J. Rochfeld, Dr. G. Brunaux (Université Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris), Mr. R. Tigner (Amsterdam)

- Germany Prof. Dr. P. Rott (University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark)

- Hungary Prof. Dr. Z. Csehi (Nagy és Trócsányi Ügyvédi Iroda, Budapest)

- Italy Prof. Dr. C. Amato, Dr. C. Perfumi (Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche presso l’Università di Brescia, Brescia)

- The Netherlands Prof. Dr. M.B.M. Loos, Dr. Ch. Mak, Dr. N. Helberger, Dr. L. Guibault, Mr. Drs. B. van der Sloot, L. Pessers, A. Kadouch, D. Baidoo (University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam)

- Norway Prof. Dr. juris T. Lunde (Det juridiske fakultet, Universitetet i Bergen, Bergen)

- Poland Prof. Dr. F. Zoll (Jagiellonian University Cracow), Mr. J.A. Luzak (University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam)

- Spain Prof. Dr. S. Cámara Lapuente, R. Yanguas Gómez (Universidad de La Rioja, Departamento de Derecho, Logroño, La Rioja)

- United Kingdom Prof. Dr. C. Willett, M. Morgan-Taylor LL.M (De Montfort University, Leicester)

- United States Prof. J. Braucher (University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law, Tucson)

REPORT 3; final report

Loos, M.B.M., N. Helberger, L. Guibault, C. Mak, L. Pessers, K.J. Cseres, B. van der Sloot & R. Tigner, Analysis of the applicable legal frameworks and suggestions for the contours of a model system of consumer protection in relation to digital content contracts. Final Report for the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers, Comparative analysis, Law & Economics analysis, assessment and development of recommendations for possible future rules on digital content contracts, 320 p.