CPSC Commissioner Peter Feldman to Speak at Virtual Event of New Crowell & Moring Series—Creating Tomorrow: Digitization of Retail and Consumer Products

Washington – November 6, 2020: Crowell & Moring’s Digital Transformation Practice and Retail & Consumer Products Law Group will host a virtual event on Nov. 12 featuring Peter A. Feldman, commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, to discuss the use of digital technology in regulating the distribution of consumer products. The premier event will launch the firm’s upcoming information series, “Creating Tomorrow: Digitization of Retail and Consumer Products,” which will go beyond the pandemic to explore how the digital revolution is impacting the retail and consumer products industries.

“We are honored to host Commissioner Feldman as he will share exceptional insight regarding the use of digital technology at the CPSC and how digitization is changing the industry,” said Ilana Lubin, partner in Crowell & Moring’s Corporate and Advertising & Media groups in New York. “As everyday consumers are witnessing, the retail and consumer products industries have been under tremendous duress as a result of the heightened pressure instigated by the pandemic to pivot and compete for customer engagement, spend, and loyalty, not only through e-commerce but also with in-store and online innovative technology solutions. Now more than ever, all restructuring of operations is being done with digital at the forefront. We’re launching this new series to both reveal and examine the legal trends and innovative technology solutions that we’re seeing across the digital frontier.”

The Nov. 12 event is free and open to the public. It will be moderated by Crowell & Moring partner Cheryl A. Falvey, a former CPSC general counsel. Topics will include the surveillance of e-commerce through the mail and how regulators are ensuring products coming into the United States are safe; the use of artificial intelligence at the agency to predict emerging trends and hazards and to inform engineering analysis; hacking and safety concerns connected to the use of AI in products; and predictions on CPSC direction following the election. 

Prior to joining the CPSC, Mr. Feldman served as Senior Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. In that role, he served as a key advisor on consumer protection, product safety, data security, and privacy issues to U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. During his tenure, Mr. Feldman was instrumental in drafting and negotiating bipartisan legislation and conducting oversight and investigations of CPSC, the Federal Trade Commission, and private sector firms.

“Our new series will put forward insights from leading regulators, lawyers, and industry executives as we look at the issues that arise as retail and consumer products accelerate their digital strategies. Over the next several months, we’ll look at how retailers and manufacturers are adding AI to what they do on e-commerce, marketing, digital partnerships, and services in store that make the experience more digital and seamless,” said Christopher A. Cole, co-chair of Crowell & Moring’s Advertising & Media Group.

To sign up for the Nov. 12 event, click here.

Crowell & Moring’s Digital Transformation Practice is a cross-disciplinary practice that helps leading companies and entrepreneurs bring new innovations to market, compete in the increasingly data-driven economy, and navigate an uncertain business and regulatory environment. The firm represents Fortune 500 companies that are investing in revolutionary ways to serve their customers, small companies that play a key role in supply chains, and disruptive technologies that are transforming products and services and
reinventing industries.

Built on the backbone of the firm’s nationally renowned regulatory group, Crowell & Moring’s Retail and Consumer Products Law Group understands the full scope of challenges and opportunities presented to retailers, consumer products companies, and brand owners. The group helps clients navigate complex legal and regulatory regimes, both domestically and internationally, applicable to the design and promotion of products and services, and assists them in taking innovative and proactive measures to protect their businesses from the array of challenges before them.