Consumer Protection and Privacy

This information memorandum provides an overview of gasoline taxation, and also of select
regulation that influences gasoline prices, at each the state and federal levels.

This information memorandum describes the circumstances under which a private, special, or local law may be enacted, explores whether such an enactment will be afforded a presumption of constitutionality if challenged, describes two tests that a court might use to resolve a constitutional challenge, and summarizes illustrative case law.

The Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA) is set forth in chapters 421 through 427 of the Wisconsin Statutes. Enacted in 1971, the stated purpose of the WCA is to simplify and clarify the laws governing consumer transactions, protect consumers against unfair merchant practices, encourage the development of fair consumer practices, and coordinate state and federal regulations. This issue brief describes the kinds of transactions regulated by the WCA and then briefly summarizes the remaining chapters.

Unwanted and unsolicited telemarketing calls and text messages, often referred to as spam, can be frustrating for consumers, but both state and federal law regulate these communications. This issue brief summarizes state and federal law on the Do-Not-Call Registry, prohibited telephone solicitations, and prohibited spoofing (using false caller identification information to disguise one’s true identity), along with relevant resources for reporting potential violations of these laws.

This information memorandum summarizes the crime of identity theft and the right of an individual to place a security freeze on their consumer report under Wisconsin law. There is also state law on the use and collection of Social Security numbers and records that contain personal information, which are outside the scope of this information memorandum and discussed in separate issue briefs.

A payday loan is a type of consumer loan that is made for a term of 90 days or less. Unlike some other states, Wisconsin law does not establish a maximum allowable rate of interest before a payday loan’s maturity date, but state law does require lenders to comply with other requirements, such as obtaining a license from the Department of Financial Institutions, providing borrowers with certain notices, and verifying that a borrower’s aggregate payday loan balance does not exceed a certain amount. This informational memorandum provides an overview of payday lending laws in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), set forth in s. 100.18, Stats., protects consumers from untrue, deceptive, or misleading advertisements or representations (fraudulent representations). It is one in a series of statutory and common law (or judicially-created) protections afforded to consumers. DTPA offers heightened protections and remedies for false advertising that are not otherwise offered by common law, and covers a broad range of entities, products, services, and modes of communication.

Wisconsin’s Internet privacy protection law, set forth in s. 995.55, Stats., generally prohibits employers, educational institutions, and landlords from requesting or requiring that a person provide access to or observation of his or her account access information for any personal Internet account, and from discriminating against a person who does not provide such access. For the purposes of the law, a “personal Internet account” is an Internet-based account that is created and used by an individual exclusively for purposes of personal communications. A person who violates the law may be subject to a forfeiture and enforcement by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD). This issue brief provides an overview of the restrictions on the access to a person’s personal Internet account by an employer, educational institution, or landlord; exceptions to those restrictions; and enforcement of those restrictions by DWD.