The International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) and the World Bank are pleased to announce the launch of the 2026 Consumer Protection Contest. The themes for the 2026 edition draw on findings from GRIDMAP: the World Bank's Global Regulations, Institutional Development, and Market Authorities Perspective Toolkit.  GRIDMAP documents persistent gaps in consumer protection frameworks and enforcement practices across all regions and income levels. A consistent finding is the gap between the powers agencies have on paper and what they can implement in practice — the three themes below aim to surface good practices that speak directly to that challenge.

We are looking for success stories from consumer protection authorities (Authorities) that demonstrate the tangible results of consumer protection work under three themes:

Theme 1: No one left behind

Consumer protection laws and institutions are only as strong as their ability to deliver real outcomes for those who need them most. This theme invites agencies to share initiatives where they have adapted their enforcement, complaint handling, and redress mechanisms to reach vulnerable or underserved consumers — including older people, persons with disabilities, low-income households, ethnic and linguistic minorities, and those with limited digital skills.

We are looking for practices that go beyond awareness campaigns.  These can include simplified complaints channels, community-based partnerships, targeted investigations into practices that disproportionately exploit vulnerable groups, and innovative redress approaches that reach the most vulnerable.

We want to know: How has your agency changed what it does — not just how it communicates — to deliver consumer protection results for those hardest to reach?

Theme 2: Busting Dark Patterns 

Digital markets present consumers with an increasingly sophisticated arsenal of manipulative design choices: hidden fees, fake countdown timers, pre-ticked consent boxes, deliberately confusing cancellation flows, and interfaces engineered to override informed decision-making. This theme invites agencies to share how they have investigated, sanctioned, or otherwise driven compliance against these unfair practices in digital environments.

Submissions may cover enforcement cases, compliance frameworks, or regulatory guidance targeting manipulative design — including subscription traps, drip pricing, and the use of platform architecture to exploit consumer inattention.

We want to know: How did your agency identify the harm, how did you build the case, and what evidence do you see of changed business behavior?

Theme 3: Enforcing Smarter – Using Data, Technology, and AI to Protect Consumers

Consumer protection agencies around the world are being asked to do more — covering larger, more complex, and increasingly digital markets — often with the same or fewer resources. This theme invites agencies to share how they are using data, technology, and artificial intelligence to enforce more effectively, supervise more proactively, and serve consumers better.

This includes a wide range of practices at different levels of technological maturity:

• AI-assisted complaint analysis: using machine learning or natural language processing to triage, categorize, or detect patterns in consumer complaints at scale

• Risk-based case prioritization: data-driven approaches to focus enforcement resources on the highest-impact cases

• Digital evidence gathering: tools and processes for building enforcement cases in digital markets, including evidence from apps, websites, and platforms

• Market monitoring tools: technology solutions for proactive, data-driven supervision across large or complex markets

• Smarter redress: digital tools that make complaint intake, tracking, and resolution more accessible and efficient for consumers and agencies alike

We recognize that agencies are at different stages of digital adoption — submissions at all levels of technical sophistication are welcome, from structured complaints databases to advanced predictive analytics.

We want to know: How has your agency used technology or data to punch above its weight — and what did it take to get there?