In a world where anonymous online reviews can impact business and anyone with a smartphone can become a rideshare driver, laws to keep consumers safe in the information marketplace are lagging. In this marketplace, individuals are free to match their products and services to consumers in ways that were impossible before the Internet and with little or no regulation.
“One minute we’re a consumer, and the next minute we’re a service provider. How do we do that? How do we regulate that?” said Dr. Kernaghan Webb, Associate Professor of Law and Business at Ryerson University.
Standards could be an important part of the answer.
Speakers at a recent event hosted by the Standards Council of Canada’s (SCC) Consumer and Public Interest Panel (CPIP) discussed how standardization could help consumers reduce the risks when buying and accessing services online.
“I don’t think that regulation can be as agile as the information marketplace,” said Howard Deane, member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the Consumers Council of Canada. “I certainly believe that standards can tame some of the Wild West atmosphere of online reviews and reputation.”
Deane hopes his work on standard ISO/NP 20488, Online Consumer Reviews -- Principles and requirements for collection, moderation and delivery processes for online consumer reviews, will help guide sites where consumers rate everything from local eateries to travel destinations. While many online reviews are helpful, some commenters see them as an opportunity to abuse a company. This can seriously affect a business and its reputation. “A study from the Harvard Business School found that a one star-increase on Yelp can increase the bottom line by 5 to 10 per cent. For restaurants that’s huge,” said Deane.
Reputation is not the only thing impacted by the digital marketplace. Consumer privacy is affected too.
“A lot of organizations like to rely on privacy policies that are long, nobody reads them, we all know this,” said Barbara Bucknell, Director of the Policy and Research Branch of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. “How do we make these better so people are asked to consent to activities in meaningful ways?”
Lack of privacy is not only a problem online. Smartphones collect data on the places people go, the number of steps they take and even how well they drive. François Coallier, Chief Information Officer and professor at the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) said the large amounts of data generated by these devices can create security challenges.
“It’s touching every aspect of our lives these days,” said Coallier. “Everybody has a supercomputer in their pocket.”
Meanwhile, consumers looking for less expensive alternatives to hotels and taxis are turning to home and rideshare services like Airbnb and Uber. While renting a room from a stranger can be convenient, it has the potential to be dangerous, said Webb. Users do not always know whether the service provider has the necessary qualifications to provide the service, what to do if problems arise, or how their personal information will be used or how prices are set.
Webb stressed the need for governments, standards organizations and consumer organizations to collaborate on regulating this emerging prosumer (the blurring of consumer/producer) marketplace. “Right now is the moment for us to engage,” said Webb. “In fact it’s a little bit too late, but right now is a heck of a lot better than tomorrow.”
Those wishing to help solve issues of emerging technologies can get involved in standards committees on topics ranging from nanoparticles to smart grids. Those specifically interested in consumer issues can apply to join SCC’s CPIP.
To learn more about standards development, see SCC’s orientation module or subscribe to monthly news updates located on the left-hand sidebar.