consumer protection

Laws and measures designed to ensure fair trading for buyers. Responsibility for checking goods and services for quality, safety, and suitability has in the past few years moved increasingly away from the consumer to the producer.

In earlier days it was assumed that consumers could safeguard themselves by common sense, testing before purchase, and confronting the seller personally if they were dissatisfied. Today the technical complexities of products, the distance of sales outlets from the original producer, and pressures from advertising require protection for the consumer. In the USA, both federal and state governments make special provisions for consumer protection. In 1962 President Kennedy set out the four basic rights of the consumer: to safety, to be informed, to choose, and to be heard. There are many private consumer associations, and among the most active and effective of crusaders for greater protection has been Ralph Nader.