Interactive marketing and the law: The future rise of unfairness

In the 20th century, the marketing law concept of deception evolved from the earlier legal concept of fraud. Stronger remedies also evolved to address the possibility of deception on a mass scale. In the 21st century, with the rise of interactive marketing, deception will continue as a primary concern, but additional emphasis will be placed on fairness to consumers. Practices that cause substantial unavoidable consumer injury without countervailing benefits will receive greater scrutiny in four areas: consumer control over advertising and the sales transaction, the targeting of vulnerable audiences and discrimination related to such targeting, the provision of information to consumers, and lastly, psychological pressure to buy, particularly as applied to targeted, vulnerable audiences.