54th Annual Consumer Assembly (Virtual)

May 06, 2020 - May 07, 2020

Each year, Consumer Federation of America’s Consumer Assembly serves as the consumer movement’s principal meeting where issues are debated and new initiatives are presented.

Slide Conference
Agenda

Wednesday, May 6th

(1:25 PM) Welcome & Introduction
1/4

Welcome & Introduction

1:25 PM

Jack Gillis, Executive Director
Consumer Federation of America

(1:30 PM) Keynote: Protecting America’s Food Safety and Security During the Crisis
2/4

Keynote: Protecting America’s Food Safety and Security During the Crisis

1:30 PM

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro
United States House of Representatives

(2 PM) Turbulent Skies
3/4

Turbulent Skies

2:00 PM

It’s no secret that consumers have a long list of complaints about air travel, from the lack of transparent pricing to family-unfriendly seating practices. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic left some travelers stranded and others struggling to obtain a refund. Panelists will discuss whether airline passengers need stronger rights and, if so, how that would best be achieved.

Moderator

Barbara Peterson, Aviation Correspondent, Conde Nast Traveler
Contributor, The Wall Street Journal

Panelists

Senator Richard Blumenthal
United States Senate

Charles Leocha, President
Travelers United

Kevin Mitchell, Chairman
Business Travel Coalition

(3 PM) Keynote: Protecting Consumers in a Health and Economic Crisis
4/4

Keynote: Protecting Consumers in a Health and Economic Crisis

3:00 PM

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
United States Senate

Agenda

Thursday, May 7th

(1:25 PM) Welcome & Introduction
1/4

Welcome & Introduction

1:25 PM

Jack Gillis, Executive Director
Consumer Federation of America

(1:30 PM) Keynote: Stepping in and Protecting the Health, Safety, and Welfare of Consumers and the Environment When the Federal Government Fails To
2/4

Keynote: Stepping in and Protecting the Health, Safety, and Welfare of Consumers and the Environment When the Federal Government Fails To

1:30 PM

Attorney General Xavier Becerra
Office of the Attorney General for the State of California

(2 PM) Weaponizing Behavioral Psychology in the Cyber Era
3/4

Weaponizing Behavioral Psychology in the Cyber Era

2:00 PM

For millions of Americans staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the internet is our lifeline for shopping, entertainment, and communications. But it comes with a dark side, in the form of so-called “dark patterns” – the behavioral science-based practices some online platforms use to manipulate us. Our panelists will discuss how online platforms use dark patterns, what we can do to protect ourselves, and what the policy response should be.

Moderator

Dan Egan, Managing Director of Behavioral Finance and Investing
Betterment

Panelists

Lena Belogolova, Founding Partner (View PowerPoint)
Intellichanges, Inc.

Arunesh Mathur, Graduate Student
Princeton University
Author, Dark Patterns at Scale: Findings from a Crawl of 11K Shopping Websites

Gro Mette Moen, Acting Head of Digital Services (View PowerPoint)
Norwegian Consumer Council

(3 PM) Keynote: Rethinking Solutions to Consumer Challenges for a Post-COVID19 Future
4/4

Keynote: Rethinking Solutions to Consumer Challenges for a Post-COVID19 Future

3:00 PM

Attorney General Karl Racine
Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia

Speaker Bios