§ 348 — Purpose and intent of article

* § 348. Purpose and intent of article. The legislature declares that\nthe state has a responsibility to protect New Yorkers from unfair,\ndeceptive and abusive business acts and practices. The legislature\nrecognizes the limitations of the current state law, which prohibits\nonly the use of deceptive business acts and practices, and has proven\ninsufficient to satisfy the state's responsibilities to protect New\nYorkers and the New York economy from unfair, deceptive, and abusive\nbusiness practices. For too long, New Yorkers, especially New Yorkers\nwith limited income, communities of color, seniors, children, veterans,\nand immigrant populations, have been left vulnerable to unscrupulous\nbusiness practices. It is time for New York to join all but a handful of\nNew York's fellow jurisdictions by adopting a comprehensive unfair,\ndeceptive, and abusive business acts and practices statute that gives\ngovernment and private parties the tools to address these harms. The\nstate must achieve the goal of deterring and remedying a broad range of\nunfair, deceptive, and abusive business practices, and leveling the\nplaying field for the state's many honest businesses and non-profits\nthat treat their customers fairly. It must also anticipate future\nunfair, deceptive, and abusive acts, including from new and emerging\ntechnologies. To that end, this article defines unfair and abusive acts\nand practices expansively to reach conduct that is unfair or abusive but\narguably not deceptive.\n The state must also ensure the most meaningful and effective\nprotection to New Yorkers against unfair, deceptive, and abusive\nbusiness practices. This article therefore eliminates atextual\nexceptions imposed by courts over the last five decades that have\nlimited the attorney general's power to enforce the statute to acts that\nare "consumer-oriented" or that have an impact on the public at large.\nThe attorney general has a special responsibility to the public to\ncreate a fair marketplace for all. That responsibility extends to\nprotecting businesses and non-profits as well as individuals. There is\nno reason to believe that a small business or non-profit is any better\nable to defend itself from unfair, abusive, and deceptive conduct than a\nconsumer, or that small entities need the protections of this article\nany less than individuals do. The market and wider society is harmed by\nthe negative consequences that flow from unfair, deceptive, and abusive\nbusiness practices even if those acts and practices have not been\nunderstood as "consumer-oriented".\n * NB Effective February 17, 2026\n