The Consumer Choice Center (CCC) was founded with a vision to lead consumer rights and promote freedom of choice in an increasingly regulated world. The spark that ignited this movement occurred when co-founder Fred Roeder, living in Berlin, witnessed a powerful clash between innovation and established industry players. As rideshare apps like Uber began to revolutionize transportation, taxi drivers—who previously held a monopoly—organized large-scale protests. Fred and his friends joined the protests, not to support the status quo, but to defend consumers’ rights to choose, holding signs that declared, “Taxi monopoly is so yesterday” and “Uber on!”
This pivotal moment underscored the need for an organization that would stand up for consumers globally—those who value innovation and believe in smart policy rather than overregulation. Thus, the Consumer Choice Center was born. CCC advocates for consumers who trust their own ability to make informed decisions and reject the paternalistic notion that governments should dictate their choices.
In conversation with Yaël Ossowski, Deputy Director of Consumer Choice Center
Q. With the increasing regulatory interventions on local, national, and supranational levels, how does CCC propose to maintain or enhance consumer choice amid these challenges? Are there specific strategies or campaigns CCC is currently undertaking?
Defending consumer choice in public policy means that we should reward creativity and innovation rather than seek to penalize it. Politicians must recognize this. In our view, legislative proposals are constantly trying to impose new rules that curb or inhibit certain behaviors or technologies. Some of our recent campaigns speak to that directly, whether that is our efforts to push back against the punitive rules on social media access for young people in bills like the Kids Online Safety Act, which actually threaten free speech and social media access for adults as well, or the necessary fight to get government to embrace technology neutrality in how we rollout Internet access to rural communities, allowing new satellite internet companies to offer products to consumers alongside incumbent internet service providers who have long had cozy relationships with regulators.
When governments create more rules, laws, and regulations, those in time will benefit only the companies that have the connections and the means to comply, meaning that consumers will be left with fewer choices and innovators will be unable to compete with the red tape. That’s why regulatory capture should also be a top concern for consumers. Rather than regulation for regulation’s sake, we need smart policy that sets clear rules and allows individuals to make their own choices set for their situation. This leads to more competition and innovation by entrepreneurs, and many more options for consumers.
Q. In what ways does CCC empower consumers to raise their voices across various platforms? Could you share some successful instances of consumer activism facilitated by CCC?
Our main capabilities rest in the hands of our capable global team. We publish commentary and analysis in mainstream media publications to push back against prohibitionism, as well as spread our content on social media, craft public policy papers to inform politicians, create legislative proposals, drive petition campaigns, and generally try to be a consumer-focused voice in public policy and legislative circles.
Our team is spread around the globe and working in their communities to raise awareness of threats to consumer choice and organize action. We do podcasts and investigative series to give platforms for consumers and experts who understand the impact of overregulation, and that is also a way in which we advance consumer activism. At their heart, everyone is a consumer choice activist. It’s up to us to make them recognize that and take action.
Q. Given that CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries, how does the group ensure that its advocacy efforts align with the diverse needs and preferences of consumers across different cultures and economic backgrounds?
That requires finding self-sufficient and passionate consumer advocates in those countries and giving the resources and confidence to take on challenges in their city or country. CCC believes very much in the power of people, the individual, to change whole industries and even the world. That belief impacts how we empower staff and put them to work in their communities. Every country has its own culture and laws, but we stand on our principles and interpret them where necessary. Obviously, this is much easier to do in liberal democracies where individuals can petition their government and drive change, but it must be done everywhere in due time.
Tell us, what’s next for Consumer Choice Center.
Last week, I was in Barcelona, Spain, and experienced how rideshare services are forced by law to make consumers wait a minimum of 15 minutes for their car. This was a measure designed to hurt ridesharing firms and force people in a hurry to use taxis. As I’ve said, the war on ridesharing is part of why the Consumer Choice Center came into being, and that fight is never going to be over. There will always be established industries and special interests who use government power to shore up their market and avoid competition, and we’ll be there to call it out and push for consumers to have a choice. I do think AI will be the next big frontier for consumer choice and innovation that will require an organization like ours that is nimble and has a global perspective to give consumers worldwide a voice in the proliferation of this technology. Open-source AI models are such a vital innovation that policymakers must understand will serve as the basis for our future prosperity.
Meet the leader behind the success of Consumer Choice Center
Yaël Ossowski is a seasoned advocate for consumer rights and technological innovation, serving as Deputy Director of the Consumer Choice Center. With a background in journalism, he contributes to prominent media outlets on topics related to lifestyle freedom and smart policy. Since 2023, Ossowski has been a Visiting Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, focusing on state-level public policy surrounding Bitcoin. He previously worked as an investigative reporter and Florida Bureau Chief for Watchdog.org. From 2013 to 2020, he organized grassroots campaigns and fundraised for student activists across five continents. Ossowski’s work has been featured in USA Today, The Hill, Boston Herald, Miami Herald, and many other global publications. He holds degrees in Political Science and History from Concordia University and the University of Vienna, and a Master’s in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from CEVRO in Prague. Born in Québec, he now resides primarily in Central Europe.
“Our three pillars of focus are: Fit For Growth, Lifestyle Choice and Tech Innovation. What unites them is the broader mission of addressing the burdensome rules and regulatory capture that deprive consumers of products, services, and goods they would otherwise enjoy. This applies whether in Sacramento, Washington, Ottawa, Brussels, and all other global capitals.”
Published in the Silicon Review (archive #1, #2)