Category: Regulation & compliance

EU public consultation on RoHS: have your say!

Tracey Bischofberger

The European Commission is currently holding a public consultation as part of its evaluation of Directive 2011/65/EU on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. This is an important opportunity for stakeholders to have their say.

Highlights from the ICPHSO International Symposium, Dublin 2019

Last week, product safety professionals from around the globe attended the ICPHSO International Symposium in Dublin. We are pleased to bring you some of the highlights coming out of the many interesting sessions.

Carol Holley

Can we fix it? Yes we can! New EU right to repair laws adopted

Legislation setting out new EU-wide rules on reparability, availability of spare parts and access to repair and maintenance information for certain appliances (such as refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines and washer-dryers) has been adopted and will apply from 2021. These measures have implications for manufacturers, importers and authorised representatives of affected products placed on the EU market. There have also been calls to extend these requirements to other durable non-energy related consumer products. Manufacturers of products not affected by these new laws need to keep an eye on developments in this area.

Tracey Bischofberger

AV/ICT equipment: don’t let standards slip! New single safety standard IEC 62368 coming into force

A new single safety standard IEC 62368 is coming into force that will replace existing safety standards for ICT and AV equipment. This will have important implications for many product manufacturers and importers. Businesses need to start thinking about this and making preparations now.

Tracey Bischofberger

OPSS I did it again – further guidance published to prepare businesses for a No Deal Brexit

Julia Maskell

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has published additional detailed guides for business on specific product safety regulations in the event of a No Deal Brexit.

Cash for the Crash

Rod Freeman

UK Government offers cash grants to help companies prepare for the UK “crashing out” of the EU without a deal.

Consumer IoT products: Governments opening the doors on cybersecurity regulation

The European Commission has been working on a range of measures to strengthen cybersecurity of consumer IoT products, and has just launched a public consultation. This provides an important opportunity to make a contribution to the future direction of regulation in this area in the EU. At the same time, the UK is actively considering the future of regulation in this area, with its public consultation having recently been completed. More details below.

Tracey Bischofberger

Charging ahead: one size fits all

EU proposal for harmonised chargers for mobile phones and other consumer devices

Tracey Bischofberger

The end of auto insurance as we know it: How big data will reshape the future of the autonomous vehicle insurance market

Heidi Lawson and Michael Coburn

Despite the recent wave of articles forecasting that the rise of autonomous vehicles will lead to a decline in auto insurance premiums, we believe it is more accurate to say that the advent of self-driving cars will cause the personal auto insurance policy, as we know it, to disappear at some point in the future.