
Rory VanLoo
Professor of Law
Michaels Faculty Research Scholar
BA, magna cum laude, Pomona College
JD, magna cum laude, Harvard Law School
PhD, with distinction, Yale University
Biography
Rory Van Loo’s research focuses on how technological, market, and social shifts invite a rethinking of the regulatory framework for consumer-facing businesses. His articles on these topics were twice selected through blind peer review for the Harvard/Stanford/Yale Junior Faculty Forum and have been published in various journals such as the Columbia Law Review, University of Chicago Law Review, and the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. Several of Professor Van Loo’s scholarly ideas were later implemented, including through the Federal Trade Commission’s section 6(b) study of technology platforms and its policy against companies’ data privacy pretexts, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s issuance of a data-sharing rule. His perspectives have also appeared in NPR’s Weekend Edition, The Sunday Times, Reuters, Bloomberg, and USA Today, among others.
Prior to BU, Professor Van Loo taught courses on contracts, consumer technology regulation, multiparty negotiations, and dispute systems design at Harvard Law School. He also served on the implementation team that built and launched the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. After law school, he spent several years at McKinsey & Co. conducting empirical studies for multinational corporations in mergers and acquisitions, consumer marketing, and organizational design.
Professor Van Loo’s intellectual engagement with digital markets began with an undergraduate major in science, technology, and society, focusing on computer science. He then received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to travel to Argentina, Costa Rica, the Côte d’Ivoire, India, Mali, Peru, Senegal, and Vietnam researching the social impact of the internet.
- Profile Types
- Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, and Professors & Clinical Instructors
- Areas of Interest
- Business Ethics, Consumer Law, Corporate Compliance, Digital Intermediaries, Law & Technology, and Regulated Industries
Publications
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Yair Listokin & Rory Van Loo, Against Monetary Primacy Northwestern University Law Review (2024)
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Rory Van Loo & Nikita Aggarwal, Amazon's Pricing Paradox 37 Harvard Journal of Law & Technology (2023)
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National Telecommunications and Information Administration: Comments from Researchers at Boston University and the University of Chicago Boston University School of Law Research Paper Series (2023)
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Rory Van Loo, The Public Stakes of Consumer Law: The Environment, the Economy, Health, Disinformation, and Beyond 107 Minnesota Law Review (2023)
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Rory Van Loo, Inflation, Market Failures, and Algorithms 96 Southern California Law Review (2023)
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Daniel Markovits, Barak D. Richman & Rory Van Loo, Consumer Law as an Axis of Economic Inequality 102 Boston University Law Review (2022)
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Rory Van Loo, Stress Testing Governance 75 Vanderbilt Law Review (2022)
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Rory Van Loo, Privacy Pretexts 108 Cornell Law Review (2022)
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Rory Van Loo, Federal Rules of Platform Procedure 88 University of Chicago Law Review (2021)
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Rory Van Loo, In Defense of Breakups: Administering a “Radical” Remedy 105 Cornell Law Review (2020)
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Rory Van Loo, The Revival of Respondeat Superior and Evolution of Gatekeeper Liability 109 Georgetown Law Journal (2020)
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Rory Van Loo, The New Gatekeepers: Private Firms as Public Enforcers 106 Virginia Law Review (2020)
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Rory Van Loo, Broadening Consumer Law: Competition, Protection, and Distribution 95 Notre Dame Law Review (2019)
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Rory Van Loo, The Missing Regulatory State: Monitoring Businesses in an Age of Surveillance 72 Vanderbilt Law Review (2019)
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Rory Van Loo, Digital Market Perfection 117 Michigan Law Review (2019)
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Rory Van Loo, Regulatory Monitors: Policing Firms in the Compliance Era 119 Columbia Law Review (2019)
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Rory Van Loo, Technology Regulation by Default: Platforms, Privacy, and the CFPB 2 Georgetown Law Technology Review (2018)
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Rory Van Loo, Making Innovation More Competitive: The Case of Fintech 65 UCLA Law Review (2018)
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Rory Van Loo, Ellen E. Deason, Michael Z. Green, Donna Shestowsky & Ellen Waldman, ADR and Access to Justice: Current Perspectives 33 Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution (2018)
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Rory Van Loo, Rise of the Digital Regulator 66 Duke Law Journal (2017)
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Rory Van Loo, The Corporation as Courthouse 33 Yale Journal on Regulation (2016)
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Rory Van Loo, Helping Buyers Beware: The Need for Supervision of Big Retail 163 University of Pennsylvania Law Review (2015)
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Rory Van Loo, A Tale of Two Debtors: Bankruptcy Disparities by Race 72 Albany Law Review (2009)
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Rory Van Loo, Consumer Law As Tax Alternative (2007)
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In the Media
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BC Law Magazine December 9, 2024
An Action-Packed Semester
Rory Van Loo is mentioned.
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American Banker April 15, 2024
The CFPB’s Proposed Data Sharing Rule: How Banking Insiders Are Reacting
Rory Van Loo is featured.
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LLRX December 31, 2023
AI in Banking and Finance, December 31, 2023
Rory Van Loo is quoted.
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Chicago Tribune October 16, 2023
Buyers, Beware. Amazon Makes It Hard to Find the Best Deals.
Rory Van Loo's piece is featured.
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Chicago Tribune October 10, 2023
Nikita Aggarwal and Rory Van Loo: Prime Day Buyers, Beware. Amazon Makes It Hard to Find the Best Deals.
Rory Van Loo coauthors an opinion.
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Harvard Law Today March 22, 2023
Making the Invisible Curriculum Visible
Rory Van Loo is quoted.
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USA Today February 28, 2023
Fact Check: Apple Settlement Payouts Will Be Far Less than $700 per User, Claims Closed in 2020
Rory Van Loo is quoted.
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The Hill December 25, 2022
How to Help the Fed and Avoid a Recession
Rory Van Loo coauthors an opinion.
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Bloomberg Businessweek December 3, 2021
A Tougher CFPB Wants to Be Big Tech’s Financial Watchdog
Rory Van Loo is quoted.
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Bloomberg Law July 9, 2021
Biden’s Executive Order Links Data Collection to Competition
Rory Van Loo is quoted.
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Lawfare April 7, 2021
A Broader Look at Privacy Remedies
Rory Van Loo's research is cited.
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Bloomberg Law December 22, 2020
FTC’s Demand for Tech Company Data Shows ‘Underutilized’ Power
Rory Van Loo is quoted.
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Columbia Journalism Review December 18, 2020
Facebook and Antitrust: A Slam-Dunk Case, or a Decades-Long Fight in the Making?
Rory Van Loo is quoted.
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The Times December 16, 2020
Is the Party Over for Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook?
Rory Van Loo is quoted.
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Reuters December 11, 2020
US Blessing Facebook Deals Complicates Lawsuit Demanding Instagram Sale
Rory Van Loo is quoted.
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Stories from The Record
Activities & Engagements
No upcoming activities or engagements.