Commerce refers generally to the activity of exchanging products, goods, and services for financial gain. The word commerce usually is used to mean economic activity broadly on a national or other large scale. Commerce can be used in many...
consumer protection
Commerce Clause
The Commerce Clause refers to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress the power “to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among states, and with the Indian tribes.”
Congress has often...
computer and internet fraud
Computer and internet fraud entails the criminal use of a computer or the Internet and can take many different forms. While some argue that “hacking” is a neutral term (see United States v. Thompson (2022)) illegal hacking is when a...
consumer protection laws
Consumer protection laws safeguard purchasers of goods and services against defective products and deceptive, fraudulent business practices. Historically, under the common law doctrine of caveat emptor, consumers had very little protection...
consumer reporting agencies (CRA)
Consumer reporting agencies (CRA) are entities that furnish consumer reports, including those that compile and maintain files on consumers on a nationwide basis and those that are restricted to certain categories of records including: medical...
contra proferentem
Contra proferentem is a rule of contract interpretation that states an ambiguous contract term should be construed against the drafter of the contract. The term contra proferentem is derived from a Latin phrase meaning “against the offeror...
contract
A contract is an agreement between parties, creating mutual obligations that are enforceable by law. The basic elements required for the agreement to be a legally enforceable contract are: mutual assent, expressed by a valid offer and...
cookie
A cookie is data created by an internet server while browsing a website that is sent to a web browser. The browser stores the information in a text file, and re-sends that information to the server each time the browser accesses the server....
counsel and procure
Counsel and procure are types of accomplice activity. Counseling and procuring a crime can lead to punishment under federal and state laws up to the punishment for the crime itself, but this is only if the person knowingly helped the person...
Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (2009)
Also known as the Credit CARD Act. Federal legislation that ends some deceptive practices used by credit card companies. Some of these practices result in consumers being trapped in expensive debt.