Consumer Law

Wyoming Consumer Issues Conference: Unlocking the Digital Marketplace: Legal and Ethical Issues

By Jeff Sovern

The 10th Consumer Issues Conference will be held on September 30 and October 1 with the theme of Unlocking the Digital Marketplace: Legal and Ethical Issues .  The location will be the UW Union on the campus of the University of Wyoming. The conference features speakers and workshops on selling, shopping and participating in the online world.  Up to 8 CLE credits available.

Why This Theme?

The digital marketplace is becoming more pervasive but raises some special issues for consumers, including privacy of personal information, commercialization of social communications, fraud, and even criminal issues. At the same time, the digital marketplace can be a boon for entrepreneurs and job seekers, if used properly. This conference will bring to the forefront the ethical and legal issues associated with the digital marketplace in ways that can be used by consumers, businesses, attorneys  and policy makers.

Speakers and Topics

This year?s keynote speaker will be Professor Patrick Murphy, Marketing Ethics Professor from Notre Dame University.  He will speak on Ethical Issues for Marketers and Consumers in the Online World.   Also speaking will be Susan Linn, an author and psychologist who will present her documentary film Consuming Kids:  The Hostile Takeover of Childhood, as well as giving a plenary speech on Reclaiming childhood from Corporate marketers & Media Moguls.  UW Communications Professor George Gladney will be joined by his colleague Professor Frank Millar for a closing plenary entitled Enduring Issues in Communication and Cyberspace. 

    Other speakers and topics include:

· UW Law Professor Dee Pridgen on Consumer Privacy in the Digital Marketplace:  Federal Initiatives

· UW Law Professor Matthew Wilson on International Issues in Electronic Commerce and Operating an Online Business

· UW Law alumni Ryan Jardine, now with Kutak, Rock in Denver, on Mobile Marketing and ?Locational Privacy?

· UW Management Professor Robert Sprague on the Use of Social Media Tools by Students, Consumers, and Small Businesses

· FBI Special Agent Tory Smith on Cyberspace Security:  Identity Theft and Consumer Fraud

· UW Marketing Professor Stephanie Geiger-Oneto on Counterfeit Goods Marketed Online

· CSU Sport Management Professor Linda Sharp on Social Media and Student-Athletes: Legal and Policy Issues

There will also be more interactive workshop presentations on Thursday afternoon, including ?Social Media Bootcamp,? ?Computer Security,? and ?Online Shopping Consumer Guide.?

CLE and Graduate Credit Available

For more information and to register for the conference, go to www.uwyo.edu/consumerconference. 

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on August 30, 2010 (boomark / email).