CPSC Chair Hoehn-Saric Addresses Annual Product Safety Conference

• Published date: 05 April 2024
• Subject Matter: Consumer Protection, Product Liability & Safety
• Law Firm: Crowell & Moring LLP
• Author: Cheryl Falvey, Matthew Cohen, Rebecca Baden Chaney, Rachel Raphael, Jessica D. Gilbert and Chantel Greene

Greetings from Orlando, FL! The Crowell product safety team is currently attending the annual meeting and training symposium of the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO). We just heard keynote remarks from the Chair of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Alexander Hoehn-Saric, and wish to share some highlights. As he did in October 2023 at the ICPHSO International Conference in Sweden, Chair Hoehn-Saric focused his remarks on addressing products sold on or through online marketplaces.

Chair Hoehn-Saric first set the stage by sharing some important data points. In 2023, the CPSC announced more than 300 product recalls; levied more than $52 million in civil penalties; engaged in 14 new mandatory safety standard rulemakings; screened more than 60,000 harmful products at the ports; and participated in numerous safety education campaigns. He also noted the budget uncertainty at the CPSC and the need to "do more with less" and stated that the CPSC will always "put consumers first" as they prioritize their work should the CPSC budget decrease.

Chair Hoehn-Saric also highlighted a number of changes taking place at the agency, and staff is currently focused on the following activities:

• ensuring that recall announcements reach consumers (preferably through direct notice) and that it is easy for consumers to take advantage of the remedy;
• warning the public about hazardous products if and when a company refuses to conduct a voluntary recall (Chair Hoehn-Saric noted that the agency issued 26 "unilateral press releases" over the past year, which he reported is more than in the previous five years combined);
• working with retailers and online marketplaces to ensure that consumers have a point of contact and that sellers do not disappear (more on that later);
• undertaking mandatory safety standard rulemakings to provide consumers "baseline safety protections" from potential hazards stemming from, for example, button/coin cell batteries small magnets, furniture, and adult portable bed rails;
• pursuing civil penalties for failing to report;
• expanding outreach efforts to historically overlooked communities; and
• training more than 800 foreign industry and government representatives as well as small businesses in the U.S. (the latter of which has doubled in the past year).

Chair Hoehn-Saric then turned his attention to online marketplaces and made many of the same points that he did last fall...