Governance of Product Safety and Advertising

Business firms are responsible for the safety of their products that are sold to their customers. For products that can potentially cause serious injuries or death, many countries have adopted strict product liability laws. These laws place the onus of responsibility of product safety on manufacturers even if customers inadvertently misuse the products. As a result, many manufacturers take proactive steps including recalling potentially unsafe products or stopping further sales until safety issues are rectified. Business firms are also responsible to minimise manipulative and misleading advertisements on the functionality and effectiveness of their products in meeting customer expectations. Price manipulation through collusion with competitors and value chain firms is increasingly deemed unlawful by many nations’ Competition or Anti-trust Commissions. Digital advertisements have come under increasing scrutiny in relation to profiling users, misusing user data without authorisation and being tagged to websites that champion disinformation and misinformation.