Online platforms have transformed the travel sector by enhancing the availability of travel services and lowering transaction costs; however, they have also posed new challenges for consumer protection. The book studies this transformation, assesses the relevant EU acquis, and explores how the legal framework could be improved to better protect consumer interests in a platform-driven market.
The book examines the private governance mechanisms employed by leading platform operators and identifies their strengths and weaknesses. Building upon these insights, it then delves into the EU legal framework, including the Digital Services Act and the Package Travel Directive. It identifies gaps in the protection of consumers concluding contracts through online travel platforms and proposes strategies for addressing these gaps through horizontal and sectoral rules. In this context, the book reflects on key notions of consumer law such as information, safety and performance, as well as the associated role of platform providers.
Focusing on stand-alone contracts for individual travel services, this study offers new perspectives on consumer protection, the digital economy, and EU law. It will appeal to both legal researchers and practitioners seeking to navigate digital markets and the complexities of their regulation. By showing how EU law can better protect consumers in connection with online travel platforms, the book offers a valuable resource for legal interpretation and future policy evolution.
1 Introduction.- Part I Transformative Power of Online Platforms.- 2
Online Platforms and Travel Transformation.-
3 Private Governance in Online Travel Platforms.- Part II Online Travel
Platforms and EU Consumer Protection.- 4 Internal Market Policy and Consumer
Protection in Digital Markets.- 5 Internal Market Policy and Consumer
Protection in Travel Sector.- 6 Consumer Protection and Common Transport
Policy.- Part III Horizontal Norms and Future Outlook.-
7 Horizontal Norms on Unfair Commercial Practices and Unfair Contract Terms.-
8 Consumer Protection in the Transforming Travel Sector: A Way Forward for
European Union Law.
Agnieszka Jabonowska is a legal researcher and a legal tech specialist. Since 2023, she has been affiliated with the Institute of Private Law, Leiden University, as part of the NWO-funded project 'These Shoes Dont Fit! How can consumer interests be protected when consumer identities are increasingly diffuse?'. Prior to that, she held post-doctoral positions at the European University Institute in Florence and the Institute of Law Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. Agnieszka's academic interests lie at the intersection of law and technology. Her previous research experience includes the European Law Institute's project 'Model Rules on Online Platforms', a fellowship at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society in Berlin as well as research visits at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg. Agnieszka obtained a PhD degree in 2021 from the University of Lodz, Poland. She has published extensively in edited volumes and academic journals, mostly on EU platform and AI regulation.
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