EU justice chief Didier Reynders meets with US officials to pitch new consumer safety dialogue

European Union justice chief Didier Reynders is making the rounds in Washington (DC), meeting with top Biden officials to discuss ways to improve consumer protections online. He’s sitting down with Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director (and recently departed FTC commissioner) Rohit Chopra and Consumer Product Safety Commission Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric. Reynders wants to work with the US consumer protection agency leaders to better protect consumer finance and product safety online. The EU has proposed updates to existing consumer credit and product safety rules, given the increase in counterfeit products sold online during the Covid-19 pandemic. Reynders said he’s seen some action from agencies and digital platforms, but doesn’t expect as much expediency in Congress. House and Senate lawmakers have pushed to ban the sale of counterfeit goods online with the bipartisan INFORM Consumers Act (H.R. 5502, S. 936). The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced their bill in November 2021. The legislation would require large online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay to verify the identity of high-volume third-party sellers as a means of cracking down on fake products. Reynders said the EU and US have faced the same challenges when it comes to tackling online counterfeits so “there’s the same protections online and offline.”