OECD International Conference - The Consumer Marketplace of the Future

The Changing Consumer Product Safety Landscape

Jun 16, 2021 | 10:30 AM - 11:55 AM

Description

This session will showcase the importance of convergence in product safety regulation in an increasingly online and globalised world. It will start with a presentation of the new OECD Recommendation on Consumer Product Safety, highlighting its key objectives, including the role that stronger product safety frameworks worldwide can play in minimising the economic and social costs of product safety fragmentation. A discussion will follow on emerging consumer product safety issues, such as hazardisation in IoT and AI-embedded consumer products (which occurs when a connected product changes and becomes unsafe after purchase due to, for example, hacking, manufacturer updates or defective software); online product safety, including the role of online platforms; and possible new ways to improve product tracking and traceability. Given the blurring lines between traditional definitions of goods and services, and growing policy overlap between product safety, security and privacy, the session will conclude with a discussion on a potential shift in the scope of product safety policy. The policy may in the future to cover not only the safety of products but also the safety of consumers more broadly. The session will also consider the impact of COVID-19 and how governments have adapted regulatory approaches in the context of a widespread health and economic crisis and whether these changes are temporary or permanent. Finally, a short statement encouraging further co-operation between consumer product safety authorities and online marketplaces through the development of product safety pledges at domestic level will be released.

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