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Executive summary International Product Safety Week 2018

12-13 November 2018

In conjunction with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers International Produc t

Safety Week (IPSW) 2018, the 2018 Symposium of the International Consumer Product Health and Safety

Organization (ICPHSO) gathered members and guests on November 12-13, 2018, in Brussels, to reflect on ‘Alignment and inclusion in a divergent world’

The honorable Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and

Gender Equality, made an opening speech to kick-off the week, in w hic h

she underlined that much has been achieved since the previous IPSW in

2016. 2017 saw the release of a Guidance to help national market

surveillance authorities. In June this year the Product Safety Pledge,

facilitated by the European Commission, was signed by four major online marketplaces (Amazon, AliExpress, Ebay and Rakuten France) making

voluntary commitments to improve the safety of products sold online by

third-party sellers. She hoped for many more to join. Also, as consumers’

empowerment is paramount, she announced the launch of a global

awareness-raising campaign under the auspices of the OECD, co-led with the Australian authorities.

The Commissioner further stressed that the work on the safety of products sold online is an integral part of the rec ent

Commission’s ‘New Deal for Consumers’ which contains concrete actions to improve enforcement. One of them is

the updated guidelines for the functioning of the Rapid Alert System and the subsequent review of the website. From now on, it will be called "Safety Gate" and be available in 25 European languages. Another action is the

Commission’s proposal on the protection for whistleblowers which will cover breaches of EU legislation on produc t safety.

To encourage best practice, the Commissioner was delighted to announce the set-up of a Product Safety Award in 2019.

Commissioner Jourová also acknowledged a number of challenges ahead. Amongst them she highlighted the need to

improve policy implementation and recall effectiveness, the issue of safety risks of Internet of Things (IoT) and

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the necessity of enhanced international cooperation. As regards the effectiveness of

recalls, the return rate of recalled products needs to increase and companies should do their utmost to better

communicate about theirs. The Commissioner supported the idea of developing global guidelines in cooperation w ith OECD. The increasing connectivity of products is also of concern to the Commissioner. This is highlighted in the

2018 Commission Communication on Artificial Intelligence which announces a 2019 Commission report on the

liability and safety frameworks for Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Robotics. Only high levels of safety can help build user trust and social acceptance of these technologies.

The Commissioner stressed the importance of international cooperation as global challenges know no borders. She

officially announced the imminent signature of the EU-Canada administrative arrangement which enables the

exchange of information on dangerous consumer products on both sides of the Atlantic. The Commissioner also

alluded to the joint Christmas surveillance campaign with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and 10 EU Member States. Popular products such as lighting chains and toys, sold online, will be tested and removed from the Single Market before Christmas if proven unsafe.

Celebrating its 25th Anniversary, ICPHSO underlined their vital role in ensuring consumers safety and even more so in an ever changing digital world. The Internet of Things (IoT) is already impacting product safety in the way products

are manufactured, bought and interacted with. Consumers’ products are more and more combined with Internet and powerful big data capabilities, which promise to revolution people’s lives.

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But the IoT also raises significant challenges that, if not addressed properly, could derail potential benefits. The

hacking of connected devices, the need for new market surveillance technics, the use of social media and e-market platforms, and safety and privacy issues are being tackled right now by global regulators as they are reflecting on and

elaborating new policy and legal frameworks. At the same time, design and development will need to address and

ensure inclusiveness for all. There was consensus that international cooperation on product safety is the only way forward as global challenges know no borders.

Executive Summary 6th International Product Safety Week (IPSW)

13 November 2018 PM

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers organised the IPSW titled ‘Connec ting

Safety’ on 13-15 November 2018 on the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels. The 2018 IPSW gathered more than 400 participants from over 50 countries. The stakeholders represented were national authorities, c onsumer organisations, private companies, lawyers, consultants, laboratories and researchers.

Participants came to engage and reflect on the very complex issue of a rapidly expanding world of Internet-connected devices and the necessity to protect consumers’ privacy and security and ensure the safety of products sold on line.

Below you can find the main conclusions developed during the different sessions. You can also access a full vers ion of the IPSW through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/events/international-product-safety-week-2018-2018-nov-12-0_en

‘Online safety campaign’

Pinuccia Contino, Head of Unit, Product Safety and Rapid Alert System,

Directorate General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission

Neville Matthew, General Manager, Consumer Product Safety Branch, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC)

Yasuko Iwai, Working Party Chair, OECD

The readiness of global actors to engage together for consumer safety was

demonstrated with the launch of the global ‘Online safety campaign’. The

focus of the OECD campaign, coordinated by the European Commission and Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is to ensure that the products consumers buy online

are safe and to inform online platforms, online sellers, and consumers to raise awareness on the safety of products sold online.

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‘Market Surveillance: T for tools, R for recalls’ Effective solutions for better market surveillance

Opening remarks were made by Alexandra Jour-Schroeder, Acting Deputy Director General, DG JUST, EC ,

who welcomed the discussion on effective solutions for better market surveillance, reminded that in Europe the

enforcement of product safety rules is the responsibility of EU Member State authorities with the European Commission facilitating their cooperation, stressed the benefice of exchanging Best Practices on new tools from across the board and underlined the importance of recalls.

The keynote speech was made by Vice Minister, Zhang Jiwen, General Administration of China Customs . He

thanked DG JUST for the possibility to exchange internationally, underlined that all connected devices are entering

deep in every day’s life, and stressed that China Customs is ready to play an active role in the elaboration of new international rules.

Panel I: New tools for markets surveillance

Eric Pellettier, Vice President-Head of International Government Relations, Alibaba

Kasper Mogensen, Co-founder, technology and development, Big2Great

Myungseong Choi, Deputy Director, Consumer Policy, Fair Trade Commission, South Korea

The panelists discussed practical application of existing tools in the field of market surveillance for product safety,

such as product barcode reader mobile applications, data mining to identify dangerous products online or bloc kc hain

applied to traceability. Examples of these tools have been developed by global e-market platforms such as Alibaba, competent authorities such as the South Korean CISS or private companies like Big2Great, who designed the

‘Nordcrawl’ upon request by Scandinavian authorities. They discussed the benefits of exchanging best practices on such new tools.

The establishment of a good communication and information/recall mechanism feedback system with global e-market platforms was also emphasised and reference was made to the European Commission’s Pledge signature.

Panel II: Recalls: best practices

Pinuccia Contino, Head of Unit, Product Safety and Rapid Alert System, Directorate General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission

Tim Grimwade, Executive General Manager, Consumer, Small Business and Product Safety, ACCC

Anthony Auffray, Worldwide Director of Product Compliance, Amazon

Maria Teresa Da Piedade Moreira, Head, Competition and Consumer Policies Branch, UNCTAD

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Recalls are the most important priority for product safety. Although recalls of unsafe products are a legal obligation,

unsafe recalled products are still found on the market. As consumer response rates remain low globally, a number of

initiatives will be of great help to curb this trend. Some of them were presented and discussed in the panel, like

behavioral studies (presentation of preliminary results of a survey on recalls carried out in the EU, Norway and Iceland), analysis of real recalls (for example, the 2018 Australian Takata airbag recall), strategies and controls by e -

market places and the increased use of Product Safety Networks at international level (ASEAN, OAS, the EU Safety

Gate and the OECD Global recall). Discussions highlighted that international cooperation is needed to withdraw unsafe products from the markets.

Signature of EU - Canada Arrangement on the exchange on information on the exchange of information on dangerous products

A historic moment followed when Tiina Astola, Director-General, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers,

European Commission and Tolga Yalkin, Director-General, Consumer Product Safety Directorate, Health Canada

officially signed the Administrative Arrangement to exchange information on dangerous consumer products.

14 November 2018

‘It’s smart, but is it safe?’ Joint OECD-EC Conference on IoT (Internet of Things), AI (Artificial intelligence) and product safety

Opening remarks were made by Pinuccia Contino, Head of Unit, Product Safety and Rapid Alert System, DG

JUST, European Commission and Yasuko Iwai, Working Party Chair, OCDE. Panel I: Introduction to the IOT and AI technologies

Frédéric Donck , Director European Regional Bureau, Internet Society

James R. Hairston, Head of Public Policy, Oculus,

Isabella De Michelis, CEO and founder, High Pulse GmbH and ErnieApp, Switzerland Robert Moskovitch, Head of Complex Data Analytics Lab, Ben Gurion University, Israel

Elias Chantzos, Senior Director Government Affairs EMEA and APJ, Global CIP and Privacy Advisor, Symantec

AI devices and the IoT are raising safety and security issues all along the product chain (from design to disposal).

International cooperation of regulators but also of all actors is required as those products that are cutting across

jurisdictions and systems have to be safe and secured. Consumer’s education and awareness raising are paramount as an informed consumer is a safe consumer. Understanding the safety and security gain is the way for consumers to

change their behavior for a more proactive role. Market surveillance also has a significant role to play and it should englobe e-platforms.

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Panel II: IoT and AI opportunities for product safety

Cornelia Kutterer, Senior Director, EU Government Affairs, AI & Privacy and Digital Policies, Microsoft

Francesco Regazzoni, Researcher, ALaRI Institute of University of Lugano

Pierre Chalançon, Chair of the Consumer Task Force, Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD

(BIAC)

Martyn Allen, Technical Director Electrical Safety First

IoT is to contribute to human wellbeing and AI is to enlarge human capabilities . These technologies are not meant to

replace humans but to contribute to convenience and security. They will bring increased safety, such as

remote/switch off control. It is a fact that consumers usually do not register their products, which makes product

recalls more difficult. Auto-registration could be a solution, with a strong ethical control in place. The fear of the ‘big

brother’ could be overcome with proper consumer education and a solid regulatory framework. Product obsolescenc e is the responsibility of the manufacturer.

Presentation: ‘Kettles and kids toys, how safe is the IoT in our house? – Live Hack’ by Mark Harrison,

Consultant, Pen Test Partners.

Connected products do need to be properly secured before being released on markets. This was demonstrated in an

attention-grabbing presentation where some products security failures were used to easily hack some Internet-

connected devices (an electronic kettle, a talking doll and an adult toy).

Panel III: IoT and AI challenges for product safety

Monique Goyens, Director General, BEUC

Marcello Manca, VP, Government & Industry Affairs, EU, A.D. UL Italy

Tsuneo Komatsuzaki, JEITA/Chair Person of Smart Home Cyber-Security Working Group, Advisor of CEO,

SECOM Co. Ltd Japan

With the IoT expansion and the very rapid development of AI there is an urgent need to protect consumersvia an

adapted legal framework. The average consumer is interested in the safe and secure use of the product. Safety is a

fundamental consumer right.. Currently, it is still not clear if Europe’s legislation is sufficiently flexible to address

those developments. Beyond possible gaps in the legal framework, there is also an enforcement and market

surveillance issue. In Japan, due to the declining population and the ageing of society, the government is proposing to build a ‘Society

5.0’ based on smart homes. Acknowledging that the most critical element in interconnecting different indus tr ies and

people’s homes will be to ensure mutual trust, Japan is working on a new policy, called ‘the cyber-physic al sec urity

framework’.

Panel IV: The way forward – policy discussion

Travis L. Norton, Technical Director Electronics and Smart Products - International Federation of Inspection

Agencies

Apostolos Malatras, Network and Information Security Expert, ENISA - European Union Agency for Netw ork and

Information Security Amanda Long, Director, Consumers International

Cinzia Missiroli, Director Standardization & Digital Solutions, CEN and CENELEC

Rod Freeman, Partner at Cooley LLP Standards are directed at businesses, while certification is directed at

consumers. Standards are very important but compulsory requirements are also demanded by consumers. The two

have a role to play for safe and secured consumer products. Clarifying liability rules is especially needed as boundaries are blurred between safety, security and privacy. Those issues and market surveillance are difficult ones

that can be best addressed at international level with all actors involved. There is no way forward without proper

enforcement.

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Safety by design should be integrated in the development of products with later updated versions always staying safe.

Safety information should be provided in a format that engages the consumer to use the product safely. In case of harm, physical and emotional harm should be measured and compensated. Consumer responsibility starts with the

safety information received in the first place.

The European Commission is preparing a report on broader implications for, potential gaps in and orientations for, the

liability and safety frameworks for IoT and AI for mid 2019.

15 November 2018

"Hey, look what I found online!"

New approaches to product safety online

Marie-Paule Benassi, Acting Director for Consumers, DG JUST, European Commission was very pleased with the opportunity to share some thoughts about the

challenges and opportunities e-commerce represents for consumer product safety. She

referred to the ‘New Deal’, a major initiative from European Commission to develop

consumer rights in the digital market. She stressed that online shopping has benefits but

also brings challenges and new actors who should be aware of their role and

responsibilities. This is why the European Commission facilitated the signature of the

Product Safety Pledge.

Panel I: Online platforms and their role in product safety

Orsolya Csorba, Deputy Head of Unit Product Safety and Rapid Alert System, DG JUST, EC

Magdalena Piech, Regulatory Affairs Expert, Allegro, Poland

Maurits Bruggink , Secretary-General, European eCommerce & Omni-Channel Trade Association (EMOTA)

Always in a spirit of international cooperation, the EU Commission started a dialogue with global market places which led to the signature of the Product Safety Pledge, whose signatories (Alibaba, Amazon, eBay and Rakuten

France) committed to react to authorities' and other entitie’s notices, to consult the EU Rapid Alert Sys tem and take

appropriate action, to provide specific single contact points for EU Member State authorit ies, to prevent the

reappearance of dangerous products already removed and to provide information/training to sellers on compliance

with EU product safety legislation.

Other marketplaces explained that they have not signed the Pledge yet as they felt it was more directed at large

international actors. It is viewed as a best practice rather than a standard. Other tools are used such as monitoring by

the marketplaces and sharing information to consumers via social media, emailing, Q&A and specific websites.

Presentation: The Norwegian advert ‘SMARTHUS’, a comical representation of when technology goes wrong, was

broadcasted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgJLpuprQ

Panel II: The role of influencers raising awareness on product safety issues

Pipsa Korkolainen, Senior Officer, Consumer Products, Tukes, Finland

Konstantinos Vlachakis, Technology editor, Influencer, Founder, Techblog.gr

Ida Mazzenga, Legal Consultant, Digital Reliance - Senior Legal Counsel, Knowit Digital Law, Sweden

The panel addressed how regulators can work with influencers to raise awareness about product safety issues . The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) started working with social media to raise awareness among consumers

about product safety issues. Their communication campaign based on black humor features a famous Finnish

comedian. The idea is to provide Finnish customers with new tools to shop online.

As this trend is becoming mainstream and reached the public sector, a number of tips to find the ‘right’ influencer

were provided with the advice to always have a detailed written contract with clear measurable elements.

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As to the influencers themselves, most of them do it for a living. They should be transparent on paid products

advertising and conflict of interests.

Closing

Solutions for minimizing the risks of the IoT and AI while ensuring benefits for all will take the form of international

cooperation, dialogue and collaboration with all stakeholders involved, policy, legal, consumers, business and experts.

With policy actions to ensure security, safety and protect privacy whilst encouraging interoperability and innovation, the IoT

and AI technologies will reach their full potential to the delight of safe and secured consumers.

In her conclusions, Pinuccia Contino urged all participants to continue to put the consumer at the center and invited them to join the next International Product Safety Week in November 2020 in Brussels.

*Part of the EC Product Safety Team