Consumer advocacy is vital in ensuring fair treatment for consumers, promoting product safety, and maintaining transparency in the marketplace. Leaders in this field are essential in deciding which issues to focus on, leading awareness campaigns, and advocating for change through media and lobbying. They also collaborate with stakeholders to increase their influence, educate consumers about their rights, and monitor industry and regulatory changes.
Frederik Cyrus Roeder, Managing Director of the Consumer Choice Center, an independent and non-partisan consumer advocacy group. The organization advocates for freedom of choice and innovation in everyday life. With a background as a Health Economist, Frederik is interested in using innovation to enhance patient healthcare delivery.
From Protest to Advocacy
In the summer of 2014, Frederik Cyrus Roeder lived in Berlin, Germany, where he observed Europe’s taxi drivers protesting against competition from ride-hailing apps. As a consumer who values ride-hailing apps, he was surprised that traditional consumer rights groups did not support choice and competition. With the help of two friends, Frederik organized a small protest highlighting the importance of consumer choice. The absence of representation for consumers who prioritize innovation and choice in these discussions prompted Frederik to recognize the need for a platform for their advocacy. This recognition marked the beginning of the Consumer Choice Center.
Setting the Standard
Under the leadership of Frederik Cyrus Roeder, the Consumer Choice Center is a global advocacy group. It stands out among the numerous nonprofit advocacy groups in the US and European Union focused on policy change. While many groups focus on specific issues or regions, Frederik’s organization prioritizes representing consumers worldwide as a distinct interest group. The Consumer Choice Center adopts a global perspective in advocacy efforts across more than 100 countries. It maintains a presence in capitals such as Washington, Brussels, Ottawa, Brasilia, London, Geneva, and Kuala Lumpur to advocate for consumer rights and interests.
Flexibility and Freedom
The Consumer Choice Center, led by Frederik Cyrus Roeder, is a grassroots organization and movement for consumers. Frederik’s leadership philosophy focuses on empowering individuals to take the lead and rejects top-down directives for effective advocacy. The organization invests in consumer advocates across various nations and supports a mobile workforce, allowing employees to work and reside flexibly. Embracing remote work is an essential aspect of the culture at the Consumer Choice Center. It aligns with its vision of a world where consumers have abundant choices, starting with granting the team for freedom to choose their work environment.
Investing in Impact
Frederik Cyrus Roeder values the dedication of skilled consumer advocates worldwide. The Consumer Choice Center intentionally invests in individuals who are committed to promoting consumer welfare and choice. These individuals have the potential to make a meaningful impact independently of the organization. Frederik Cyrus Roeder believes that people are the organization’s most valuable asset and directs efforts toward increasing media coverage on consumer issues. They also prioritize creating policy primers for lawmakers to help them understand the impacts of policies.
Sustainable Progress
The Consumer Choice Center promotes policies that support growth, individual lifestyle choices, and technological innovation for its thousands of members and society as a whole. Through research and educational campaigns aimed at policymakers and the general public.
The following are the pillars of its work:
- Fit for Growth: The Consumer Choice Center believes that consumers should have access to safe and scientifically validated innovations, technologies, and other scientific advancements. It aims to educate consumers on the importance of unbiased scientific information and inform policymakers about the limitations of political influence in scientific issues. The organization’s main goal is to promote consumer choice and support scientific innovation in areas like healthcare, food production, and consumer safety. It advocates for a policy framework based on science that encourages innovation, consumer choice, and incentives for scientific advancements.
- Lifestyle Choices: The organization advocates for consumer independence, promoting the ability to make informed decisions and access harm reduction tools. It also works towards expanding choices in various areas such as fashion, food, and lifestyle, as well as advocating for reforms in housing, transportation, healthcare, and education. Consumer Choice Center’s research and guides help members identify consumer-friendly locations and communities that support the sharing economy. Through outreach to policymakers and the public, it recommends policies that prioritize Lifestyle Choice and emphasize the role of consumers in the economy for a prosperous future.
- Tech Innovation: It recognizes the transformative impact of the Internet and mobile connectivity. It advocates for increased access to broad services and products that are affordable and convenient for consumers worldwide. The organization emphasizes the advantages of instant money transfers, the token economy, streaming services, high-speed Internet, and other technological advancements. It asserts consumer rights to access these innovations globally. Consumer Choice Center’s research and outreach work aims to steer policymakers toward policies that support tech innovation in line with their vision of progress, abundance, and prosperity for all.
From Ideas to Market
Following are the challenges, the importance of intellectual property rights, and the necessary actions to nurture innovation in Europe and globally.
| Europe and Global Innovation: The Importance of Intellectual Property Rights | |
| Current Threats to Innovation | Populist movements advocate weakening intellectual property rights.This jeopardizes ongoing medical advancements critical for disease management. |
| Challenges Requiring Innovation | Feeding a growing global population.Addressing the impacts of climate change. |
| Need for Innovation Policy Framework | Intellectual property rights are vital for continuous innovation.Scholars emphasize their role in fostering innovative societies. |
| Call to Action for European Leaders | Urgent measures are needed to support innovation-friendly policies.Ensure patients benefit from medical advancements. |
| Consequences of IP Rights Erosion | Undermines innovation and harms patients with untreatable diseases.Weakens EU’s global position on patents. |
| Trade Policy Recommendations | Favorable policies for innovative products from the UK.Promote and protect intellectual property rights globally. |
| Impact of EU’s Innovation Stance | Pushing away innovation could lead to innovations thriving elsewhere.Consumers miss out on the benefits of innovative solutions. |
Beyond Boundaries
Using a grassroots approach to advocacy and dynamism is highly valued by Consumer Choice Center. Its advocates are actively involved in various regulatory matters. It includes video games, sports betting, beer and wine distribution, healthcare innovation, social media, data privacy, and the future of TikTok in the United States. This list only scratches the surface of the organization’s areas of focus. Whenever a cause aligns with its mission of enhancing or protecting consumer choice, the dedicated staff is prepared to address it under the umbrella of the Consumer Choice Center.
Ethical Standards
The Consumer Choice Center relies on support and funding from private donors. According to its Code of Ethics, the organization maintains strict editorial independence and ensures that funders do not influence editorial decisions.
Support for the Consumer Choice Center comes from various sources, including corporations, individuals, and foundations. The organization offers a tiered membership model, allowing supporters to contribute annually at silver, gold, or platinum levels.
Throughout its history and currently, the Consumer Choice Center has received funding from diverse industries such as energy, fast-moving consumer goods, nicotine, alcohol, airlines, agriculture, manufacturing, digital services, healthcare, chemicals, banking, cryptocurrencies, and fintech.
