Welcome to the latest edition of your monthly Consumers International newsletter.
 
I’d like to thank all of our members who completed our 2017 member insight survey. Your invaluable feedback will help us shape our work to ensure that we maximise our impact over the coming year in the areas of digital, international trade, consumer protection, communications and partnership activity.
 
Read on for my blog on the WannaCry cyber-attack as well as updates on UNCTAD e-commerce Week and our joint member campaign on flight delays. We also have all the latest news from our global membership.

All good wishes,


Amanda Long
Director General,
Consumers International

• Earlier this month, we attended the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) regional symposium in Guatemala. Fifty politicians from 14 countries came together to discuss food related consumer issues such as food labelling and malnutrition.
• In support of a request from the Yemen Association for Consumer Protection, we wrote to the World Food Programme to request that they investigate the circumstances in which a recent shipment of food aid to Yemen was found to be unfit for human consumption.

Europe/ North America

• Our UK member Which? and BEUC held a joint conference that focussed on the importance of securing a positive outcome for consumers after the British exit of the European Union.
• Consumer Reports, our member in the USA, published the results of their latest ‘Consumer Voices’ survey. The results suggested that American consumers are pessimistic about their rights in relation to healthcare, data privacy and car safety.
• Following consultation with Altroconsumo last October, Italy’s antitrust authorities have fined WhatsApp 3 million euros for unclear terms of agreement that induced users to share personal data with Facebook, WhatsApp’s parent company.

Latin America

• To celebrate Children’s Day in Mexico, our member El Poder Del Consumidor and the Network for Children’s Rights presented the results of study in to the negative impact that televised junk food advertising has on children.
• Our Brazilian member PROTESTE has launched a new online course to educate consumers on personal finance and provide useful tips for helping them manage their budget.
• ODECU Chile, in collaboration with environmental watchdog Ecocéanos and Yale University, has issued a warning about the unsustainably high use of antibiotics in the product of salmon in Chile. The salmon farming industry uses 546 tonnes of antibiotics a year which is more than Norway, the world’s leading producer of salmon.

Asia Pacific

• In Australia, our member CHOICE has warned consumers against using Cardless Cash when shopping on Gumtree after reports of a scam selling fraudulent festival tickets to those using the service. CHOICE is inviting consumers who have had issues with ticket resale sites to report it via their website.
• Through the launch of a new audio edition of their bi-monthly magazine, CERC India has developed an exciting and innovative way of reaching visually impaired consumers. The magazine is written in Hindi and aims to educate consumers about their rights.
• Following pressure from our member the Bombay Consumer Forum, the Bombay High Court has issued directions to reform the consumer courts and councils in Maharashtra State in a move to improve the infrastructure for resolving consumer disputes in the region.

Middle East

• The Public Authority for Consumer Protection in Oman seized over 90,000 containers of medical equipment and supplies from a commercial company that was accused of manipulating validity labels and selling items that had passed their expiry date.  
• Our affiliate member in Saudi Arabia, the Consumer Protection Association, launched a telephone service to make it easier for consumers to gain access to free advice about their consumer rights and register complaints when they feel their rights have been breached.
• To mark UNCTAD e-commerce Week, the Yemeni Association for Consumer Protection organised a workshop to raise awareness about the importance of building a fairer digital economy for consumers. You can watch their presentation here.

Africa

• As part of Consumers International’s new strengthened partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), ADECOR Rwanda held a meeting with the organisation to discuss how they can work with each other at a national level.
• The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has attended several stakeholders’ workshops that explored ways for consumers to oversee and participate in development of new products before they reach the market.
• Our Senegalese member ADEC was invited to be part of the CODEX Alimentarius forum hosted in Dakar. The forum was organised educate national stakeholders about the importance of enforcing international food standards.

• The Open Society Foundations has opened its 2017 Civil Society Leadership Awards programme which offers fully funded scholarships for master’s degree study to successful applicants. Find out more about the eligibility criteria and how you can apply.
• With the emergence of data economy as one of the most lucrative industries in the world, this article by The Economist explains why governments must act soon to prevent tech companies from building a monopoly that limits consumer choice.  
• Research from the Global Footprint Network has revealed that the world’s population would need 1.7 earths to satisfy its unsustainable consumption demands.