On June 1, 2026, the White House issued a statement that Brien Lorenze of Virginia is nominated as a commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for a term of seven years, from October 27, 2024, filling the seat vacated by Commissioner Doug Dziak.
Continue Reading Brien Lorenze Nominated Commissioner of Consumer Product Safety Commission
Navigating a Shifting Landscape
The U.S. pet industry is booming—an estimated $143.6 billion market in 2023, with over 152 million American households that own at least one pet. Alongside this growth, however, comes increasing scrutiny regarding the safety of pet products. Recent high-profile incidents, such as Petmate’s nationwide recall of Pet Zone pet toys due to non-compliant button cell batteries, have highlighted not only the risks to pets and households, but also the potential for significant financial and reputational harm to companies.
Continue Reading Pet Product Regulation May be Nipping at the HeelsA New Jersey consumer products company was sentenced this week to pay a criminal fine of $8 million plus an additional $395,786 in restitution to victims after pleading guilty to willfully failing to report dangerously defective air conditioners to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The case illustrates the staggering civil and even criminal consequences that can flow from failure to satisfy the Consumer Product Safety Act’s (CPSA) mandatory reporting requirements, especially the willingness of federal prosecutors to pursue criminal charges.
Continue Reading Criminal Sentencing in Royal Sovereign Case Underscores Staggering Consequences for Defective Product Reporting Failures
Register now to join Crowell & Moring for “Between the Lines: What CPSC Enforcement Data Reveals for 2026 and Beyond” to explore the latest regulatory enforcement trends and gain a forward-looking perspective on what 2026 and beyond may bring. The webinar will take place on Thursday, May 7, 2026 from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET.
Continue Reading Register Now! Between the Lines: What CPSC Enforcement Data Reveals for 2026 and Beyond
On February 12, 2026, a bipartisan group of legislators in Maryland proposed the Maryland Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act. This proposed legislation would amend the Maryland Consumer Protection Act to establish a sweeping regulatory framework for AI-enabled toys sold in the state, covering any device that uses machine learning, conversational AI, behavioral modeling, or similar computational processes and is marketed to or primarily used by children. This proposed legislation adds to a growing trend of increasing efforts, at both the federal and state levels, to regulate the use of AI in products and services used by children.
Continue Reading Maryland’s Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act: State-Level Regulation Fills the Federal Void on AI in Children’s Products
Day three of the ICPHSO Annual Meeting & Training Symposium in Orlando, Florida brought another packed slate of sessions, and the Crowell team was present throughout to capture the day’s key insights and conversations. Across panels spanning right-to-repair, online marketplace regulation, recall collaboration, and international risk assessment, a single urgent question surfaces: as products, supply chains, and consumer behaviors grow more complex, how do regulators, manufacturers, retailers, and platforms share — and sometimes contest — the responsibility for keeping consumers safe? Day three made clear that the answer increasingly demands cooperation, not just compliance.
Below is a closer look at select sessions from the day and the key takeaways that resonated with attendees.
Continue Reading Day Three of the ICPHSO Symposium: Redefining Responsibility — Who Protects the Consumer in a Changing Marketplace?
Tuesday, February 24 was the second day of the ICPHSO Annual Meeting and Training Symposium in Orlando, Florida. The Crowell team was on the ground throughout the day, and the sessions did not disappoint. From cybersecurity standards for IoT devices and the European Union’s (EU) sweeping new compliance obligations — the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), and Digital Product Passports — to U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) eFiling deadlines and the challenge of age-grading products in a social media landscape, the recurring question was the same: how do regulators, companies, and standards bodies stay ahead of a marketplace that never stops moving?
With that backdrop in mind, here are some highlights from the day’s sessions and key takeaways for product safety professionals today.
Continue Reading Day Two of the ICPHSO Symposium: The Race to Keep Pace — Regulation in a Fast-Moving World
What does Taylor Swift have to do with product safety? According to the panelists who took the stage for the first plenary session at the ICPHSO Annual Meeting & Training Symposium, quite a lot. As the opening lyric reminded the room, looking backward may be the only way to look forward.
Moderated by Molly Lynyak of ASTM International and featuring Joan Lawrence of The Toy Association, Cheryl Falvey of Crowell & Moring, and Dana Baiocco of Clyde & Co., the panel walked through more than five decades of product safety history — and drew some sharp lessons for where the industry goes next.
Continue Reading The Product Safety Eras Tour at ICPHSO: Lessons from the Past, Challenges for the Future
The second panel of the day brought a timely and clear-eyed look at where CPSC enforcement has been — and where it is headed. Crowell & Moring attorneys Clay Marquez, Chantel Greene, and Sean Ward started the second day of the ICPHSO Annual Meeting & Training Symposium walking attendees through the enforcement landscape using a framework as straightforward as it is memorable: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Continue Reading Second Up to Bat at ICPHSO — and Swinging Hard: The New Realities of CPSC Enforcement
President Trump has nominated Karen Sessions to serve a seven-year term as Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), marking the latest step in reconstituting the agency following unprecedented leadership turnover. On February 11, 2026, the White House announced Sessions’ nomination to replace former Commissioner Mary T. Boyle. If confirmed by the Senate, Sessions will serve a full seven-year term on the Commission, which is responsible for product safety oversight and regulation.
Continue Reading White House Nominates Karen Sessions as Commissioner for the Consumer Product Safety Commission