Advances in technology come with countless benefits for society, but these advances sometimes introduce new risks as well. Various characteristics of technology, including its increasing complexity, may present novel challenges in understanding its impact and addressing its risks. Enforcement agencies have broad jurisdiction to protect consumers against certain harmful practices (typically called "deceptive and unfair" practices in the United States), but sophisticated technical analysis may be necessary to assess practices, risks, and more. Moreover, consumer protection covers an incredibly broad range of issues, from substantiation of claims that a smartphone app provides advertised health benefits to the adequacy of practices for securing sensitive customer data.

The Eighth Workshop on Technology and Consumer Protection (ConPro ’24) will explore computer science topics with an impact on consumers. This workshop has a strong security and privacy emphasis, with an overall focus on ways in which computer science can prevent, detect, or address the potential for technology to play a role in consumer deception or harm. Participants will consist heavily of academic and industry researchers but are also expected to include researchers from the Federal Trade Commission—the U.S. government's primary consumer protection body—and other government agencies with a consumer protection mission. Research advances and ideas presented at the workshop may help improve the lives of consumers, and discussions at the event may help researchers understand how their work can best promote consumer welfare given laws and norms surrounding consumer protection.

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