Reflecting on the Consumer Movement

I recently visited our nation’s capital for the annual consumer assembly of the Consumer Federation of America. The weather was beautiful, the cherry blossoms were emerging, and national leaders on consumer issues gathered in a hotel basement to discuss the most pressing issues that consumers, advocates, and policymakers are facing.

March 13th, the second day of the conference, marked the 50th Anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s Consumer Bill of Rights. This was landmark ruling that brought the consumer movement to the forefront of the public discourse and paved the way for advocates and policymakers to defend the average consumer by protecting their health and safety through policy, regulatory, and legal battles. Jim Guest, the President and CEO of Consumer Reports, honored the 50th Anniversary of President Kennedy’s declaration of consumer rights with a powerful speech about the history of the consumer movement, the vision that President Kennedy displayed and that all consumer advocates maintain, and a call to continue the fight to protect consumers.

Something that struck me is that the term “consumer” doesn’t have a very positive connotation for the millennium generation. We hear consumer and we think of America’s obsession with consumption that some say has led to the destruction of our environment and the growing power of corporations. We hear consumer protection and we wonder why you’d protect something that exemplifies the exploitation of our natural environment and our culture’s obsession with “stuff”. As long-time consumer advocates, we need to be thinking about how to effectively communicate the ideas that our work is built on, and bring younger generations into an understanding of the rights and protections they have.

A number of the panel discussions and presentations at the conference focused on consumer advocacy in the digital age. How do we regulate technology industries that are constantly changing, expanding, and growing? How do we protect consumer privacy and information when there are so many intangibles? The internet is not something that we can touch and feel,  the sharing of information increasingly happens on remote servers and things now communicate with other things without people even having to play a role. how can the consumer movement adapt to this and continue to protect consumers rights? This advancement of technology and the internet is referred to as the “internet of things” – most basically described as the ability of products to communicate with each other, share data, and influence our environment without human influence.

The digital world presents an important opportunity to engage the younger generation in the fight to protect consumer rights. The right to privacy and the right to decide how your information is being shared and used are both prevalent in our daily digital lives. As the internet becomes more essential for school, work, community, leisure, and overall communications, the need to protect consumers is increasingly strong.

Here at CUB, we’re taking these ideas to heart. As we develop policy around the Smart Grid, and continue to work with Oregonians just like you to keep rates fair, affordable, and clean, we’re mindful of the choices that customers will be making in the near future. Being thoughtful about the integration of the “internet of things” and our energy use is key to making sure your rights are protected while we work towards Oregon’s clean energy future.

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