About Anita Rao

Consumer-rights researcher

Consumer protection & access to knowledge · a focus on the Asia-Pacific · writing to make rights and law understandable

I'm Anita Rao, the researcher and writer behind CIRoap. I've spent my career close to consumer-protection work — reading the law, following the cases, and translating dense policy into something an ordinary shopper can actually use.

Why I do this

Consumer rights only matter if people know they have them. Too much good protection is locked inside legislation and reports that almost no one reads. This site is my attempt to open that up: plain-language guides to your rights, to making a complaint, and to how consumer law works across our diverse region.

What I focus on

My particular interests are access to knowledge — the idea that information and education should not be priced out of reach — and the fast-moving field of digital consumer protection, where the law is still catching up with the marketplace.

What I believe

• Clarity is power. A right you can't understand is a right you can't use.
• Compare, then improve. The region's best ideas should travel.
• Consumers are not a niche. Everyone is one.

If you spot an error or have a question, I'm always glad to hear from readers — it keeps the work honest.