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International organizations relevant to consumer affairs

01.06.2020

The table below supplements the section on international organizations in the Handbook chapter on “Consumer affairs.” International bodies can help national regulators to handle consumer affairs in various ways, including:

Many other international bodies, in particular regional associations, also play useful roles.

Body Consumer-relevant functions Selected URLs of possible interest
Major intergovernmental bodies
ITU Global exchange on ICT standards, regulatory issues and best practices www.itu.int/ITU-T (ICT standards)

https://www.itu.int/net4/ITU-D/CDS/sg/index.asp?lg=1&sp=2018 (ITU-D Study Groups)

https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Regulatory-Market/Pages/default.aspx

www.itu.int/bestpractices

UNCTAD Research on competition and consumer issues https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditccplpmisc2016d1_en.pdf Guidelines for Consumer Protection

https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditccplp2017d1_en.pdf Consumer Protection Handbook

https://unctad.org/en/Pages/DITC/CompetitionLaw/ResearchPartnership/Promoting-competition-while-protecting-consumers-in-the-digital-economy.aspx Ongoing activities

EU Legislation applies in EU and has wider influence https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018L1972&from=EN (Electronic Communications Code. See Part III, Title I for universal service and Title III for end-user rights)

https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/consumers/consumer-protection_en

OECD Research and publications http://www.oecd.org/sti/consumer/consumersinthedigitaleconomy.htm
Global standards
ISO Considers consumer views in standards https://www.iso.org/consumer-standards-resources.html (Members are national standards bodies of 164 countries)
Cross-border enforcement co-operation
ICPEN Enforcement network for consumer protection authorities https://www.icpen.org/ (International cooperation to enforce consumer protection rules. Members are consumer protection authorities from over 65 countries)

http://econsumer.gov (Consumer-facing website in eight languages)

UCENET Unsolicited communications enforcement network https://www.ucenet.org/ (International cooperation to enforce rules against all kinds of spam. Members include regulatory and enforcement agencies from 29 countries)
International consumer bodies
Consumers Inter-national Umbrella body for consumer organizations https://www.consumersinternational.org/what-we-do/digital/ (Member organizations in more than 100 countries. Digital is a major focus)
ANEC European body representing consumers in standards formation https://www.anec.eu/priorities/digital-society https://www.anec.eu/publications/tagged/9-digital-society

https://www.anec.eu/priorities/digital-society#privacy

(Privacy handbooks and policy statements)

TACD TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue http://tacd.org/policy/information-society/ (75 member organizations from United States and EU. Useful policy briefings)
BEUC Umbrella body for European consumer organizations https://www.beuc.eu/digital-rights (Provides consumer perspectives on digital issues in advanced economies)
Last updated on: 19.01.2022
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