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Christian Tamotsu Fjeld

Senior Vice President

[email protected]

+1.202.434.7433

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Christian is based in our Washington, DC office and is a Senior Vice President of ML Strategies. He assists a variety of clients in their interactions with the federal government.

Prior to joining ML Strategies, Christian spent 20 years on Capitol Hill, the last 10 of which he served as Senior Counsel and Subcommittee Staff Director on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.  In so doing, he served under the current Chair, Senator Maria Cantwell (D – WA), as well as former Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) and former Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL).  In this capacity, his work focused on a broad range of issues, including consumer protection, privacy and data security, cybersecurity, automobile and highway safety, product safety, sports, manufacturing, exports, and trade, while regularly interacting with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and the Department of Commerce. 

Earlier, Christian held senior staff and advisory roles with the House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy & Commerce, where he worked on matters related to the FTC, NHTSA, CPSC, Department of Commerce, and the EPA.

Christian also previously served as a Senior Legislative Assistant to former Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) and to former US Representative Bill Luther (D-MN), advising each on Energy & Commerce Committee issues.  

viewpoints

Christian Fjeld, Vice President of ML Strategies, discusses the possibility of future legislation addressing ethical considerations surrounding artificial intelligence. Christian explains that it will most likely be the courts that determine parameters on AI ethics in society with decisions on individual cases. 
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ML Strategies’ Christian Fjeld discusses Senator Wyden’s Algorithmic Accountability Act which would direct the Federal Trade Commission to promulgate rules that would establish how companies should assess their algorithmic decision making to ensure that it is not biased or discriminating against classes of people.
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Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL) has introduced the Protecting the Information of Our Vulnerable Children and Youth Act (PRIVCY ACT), which is a significant rewrite of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). In so doing, the bill expands the scope of COPPA’s protections and creates new enforcement mechanisms. The children advocacy groups, Common Sense Media and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, have come out in public support of the bill, as has the privacy advocacy group, the Center for Digital Democracy.
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The Impact of AI

February 3, 2020 | Article | By Christian Tamotsu Fjeld

Read the transcript of a San Francisco Business Times panel discussion on artificial intelligence, including ML Strategies Vice President Christian T. Fjeld’s insights on emerging regulatory issues.
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The House is taking a different approach to drafting a federal privacy bill.  On December 18, Democratic and Republican staff for the House Energy & Commerce Committee released a bipartisan staff draft for circulation.  The “staff” in “staff draft” is key – the document does not necessarily reflect the policy positions of Members, particularly committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR).
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As 2020 gets underway, Congress will continue to deliberate on federal privacy legislation in the second session of the 116th Congress.  The California Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CCPA) went into effect on January 1, and the state will begin enforcing the law on July 1.  State Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) is expected to release final regulations implementing CCPA within six months (although business certainly hopes sooner….). 
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Read about the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, consensus robocall legislation that passed in the House of Representative by a vote of 417-3.
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Mintz’s December TCPA Digest covers consensus robocall legislation passed by the House of Representatives, recent TCPA-related orders from the FCC, and court decisions allowing fraud claims to proceed against serial TCPA plaintiffs.
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Read about infrastructure-related bills and measures before Congress, including the surface transportation and Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) reauthorizations.
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News & Press

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Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld provided insights for a feature article published by The National Law Review examining the privacy implications of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen’s testimony before a Congressional Subcommittee regarding harms perpetuated by the tech giant.
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Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld was quoted in an article published by Bloomberg Law on how the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020 may impact the industry due to the government’s purchasing power.
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In Thomson Reuters’ Westlaw, Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld was quoted on the Internet of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020, which establishes security standards for IoT devices owned or controlled by the federal government and was recently signed into law by President Trump, and its potential “spillover effects” into the private sector.
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In an article published by Law360, Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld was quoted on how the 2020 election could reshape the communications industry, specifically with regards to leadership on relevant congressional committees and the possibility of reform of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
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In an article published by Law360, Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld was quoted on lawmaker efforts to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
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Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld was quoted in an article published by Reuters discussing the increase of price gouging due to COVID-19 and its legality.
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Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld was quoted in an article published by Legaltech News on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s approval of robotics company Nuro’s request for three exemptions to deploy its fully autonomous car fleet in the United States.
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On December 9, 2019, Vice President of ML Strategies Christian T. Fjeld participated in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Business Table of Experts discussion hosted by the San Francisco Business Times. During the forum, panelists addressed how businesses can leverage AI to drive innovation, the impact AI will have on the economy and on society, and the meaning of artificial intelligence itself.
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In this Q&A published by Legaltech News, Vice President of ML Strategies Christian Fjeld—former lead Democratic Senate staffer tasked with shepherding the American Vision for Safer Transportation through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies Act (AV START Act) through the Senate—discussed why Congress failed to pass the AV START Act, how autonomous vehicles’ complexity isn’t lawmakers’ largest hurdle, and why the data privacy debate may factor into the next autonomous vehicle bill.
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Events & Speaking

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Nov
5
2020

Decision 2020: Post-Election Breakdown

ML Strategies Webinar

View the Discussion Recording

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Speaker
Panelist
Jun
19
2019

Health Care & Cybersecurity: A Powerful Combination

ML Strategies, 701 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20004

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Christian Tamotsu Fjeld

Senior Vice President

Washington, DC