Consumer Choice Center (CCC)
Background
The Consumer Choice Center (CCC) is a 501(C)(3) organization that was set up in March 2017 and promoted as “a grassroots-led movement” that “empowers consumers across the globe.”
According to its website, the CCC “represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe” while closely monitoring trends in Washington, Brussels, Geneva and what it describes as other “hotspots of regulation” with the ultimate goal to “inform and activate consumers to fight for #ConsumerChoice.” [1], [2], [3], [4]
According to the CCC‘s listed mission: “Learning from the successes of its parent organization, Students For Liberty, the CCC will bring the struggle for consumer freedom to the next level.” CCC‘s parent organization, Students For Liberty (SFL), has received more than $100,000 from the Charles Koch Foundation, the Atlas Network, and other right-wing funders. [4]
One investigation by the Brussels think tank Corporate Europe Observatory suggested the CCC was working as a lobby group for a network pushing deregulation. As opposed to representing consumers as it claims, the investigation claimed CCC and another group “represent their funders’ rather than consumer interests.” [5]
DeSmog UK reported the group had likely ties to a range of organisations and individuals known for their efforts to combat environmental regulations, including the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and Charles Koch. IEA has been closely tied to a network of organizations that have both pushed for Brexit and have dismissed the threat of man-made climate change. [1]
A spokesperson for the IEA told DeSmog UK that it “has no formal relationship with the CCC.” He added that “Both organisations work on similar areas and staff have spoken at each other’s events, but there is no official affiliation.” [1]
Stance on Climate Change
While the CCC does not have an official statement on climate change, it has worked with the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a group that has stated “Free-market structures and the wealth generated by markets” as methods to “best adapt to climate change.” [6]
Lobbying
The CCC has four full time lobbyists and spent up to €199,999 on lobbying between May 2015 and April 2016, according to lobbyfacts.eu. [7]
Funding
While the CCC has described itself as “pretty much bootstrapped” according to director Federik Roeder, nonprofit filing records indicate the group started with a total budget of €3,652,198. [2]
Speaking with Politico, Roeder added he would not take public funding but is “totally open” to corporate donations. “I know lots of corporations and businesses are going to see the value in supporting Consumer Choice,” he said, claiming that donors would have no influence on the organization’s activities. [3]
Students for Liberty Funding
Below is the funding listed by Conservative Transparency, combined with data from public 990 forms, for the CCC‘s parent organization, Students for Liberty: [8]
See the attached spreadsheet for additional information on Students of Liberty funding by year (.xlsx).
| Donor | Total |
| Donors Capital Fund | $1,330,099 |
| DonorsTrust | $959,500 |
| John Templeton Foundation | $949,717 |
| Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation | $754,089 |
| Marcus Foundation | $525,000 |
| Atlas Economic Research Foundation | $460,405 |
| Claws Foundation | $460,000 |
| Lowndes Foundation | $155,000 |
| The Rodney Fund | $151,032 |
| Dunn’s Foundation for the Advancement of Right Thinking | $88,000 |
| Charles Koch Institute | $79,145 |
| Pierre F. and Enid Goodrich Foundation | $68,000 |
| Institute for Humane Studies | $46,770 |
| Searle Freedom Trust | $30,000 |
| The TWS Foundation | $25,000 |
| Chase Foundation | $25,000 |
| Ed Uihlein Family Foundation | $18,500 |
| Chiavacci Family Foundation | $10,000 |
| Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation | $10,000 |
| Lovett and Ruth Peters Foundation | $5,000 |
| The Vernon K. Krieble Foundation | $5,000 |
| Center for Independent Thought | $5,000 |
| The McWethy Foundation | $3,000 |
| Einhorn Family Foundation | $2,000 |
| John P & Kathryn G Evans Foundation | $1,900 |
| Foundation for Economic Education | $1,900 |
| Dodge Jones Foundation | $1,000 |
| Earhart Foundation | $620 |
| Grand Total | $6,170,677 |
Key People
As noted by Corporate Europe Observatory, “it can be quite hard to identify where SFL ends and CCC begins.” Not only do the two groups share the same registered address, but nearly all of the CCC‘s staff are either alumni of SFL or currently working there. [5]
The following “Staff & Fellows” were listed on the CCC website in 2017: [4]
| Name | Description |
| Frederik Roeder | Managing Director |
| Yaël Ossowski | Deputy Director |
| Luca Bertoletti | European Affairs Manager |
| Adam Cleave | Senior Advisor |
| David Clement | North American Affairs Manager |
| Bill Wirtz | Policy Analyst |
| Ryan Khurana | Research Fellow |
| Brad Lake | Intern |
Actions
April 29, 2017
According to Corporate Europe Observatory, the CCC‘s launch event took place in a hotel near the European Parliament, and included presentations from two CCC speakers plus a representative from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) as well as right-leaning European People’s Party MEP Stefano Maullu. [5]
“The launch was a peculiar affair for a grassroots event, attended almost exclusively by men in suits and sporting a vase for business cards at the door,” the Corporate Europe Observatory noted. [5]
CCC reported it had worked with another think tank, Forest EU, as well as the libertarian think tank EPICENTER and its members, which include the Institute of Economic Affairs. Forest EU is a pro-smoking lobby group that stands for “Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco in the European Union.” The Corporate Europe Observatory reported that Forest EU’s director Guillaume Périgois said he was glad to support the CCC, since he saw tobacco regulation as the blueprint for other sectors. [5]
During the CCC‘s launch event, Christopher Snowden, head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, presented an EPICENTER report promoting the “Nanny State Index” in Brussels. The report also mentions collaboration with Students for Liberty. [9]
When asked at the event about the group’s three-million-euro budget, Roeder responded that the initial seed funding came from the group’s parent organization, Students for Liberty (SFL). [5]
The CCC released the following video to accompany the group’s opening.
Related Organizations
- Students for Liberty (SFL) — Funder and “parent organization.” [4]
- EPICENTER — Worked with CCC. [5]
- Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) — Member of EPICENTER. Worked with CCC. [5]
- Forest EU — Has worked with CCC. [5]
Contact & Address
Note that, as of August 2017, the following address was shared by the CCC and by its “parent organization,” Students For Liberty. [4], [10]
Address
2221 S Clark St. 12th Floor
Arlington, VA 22202, USAPhone
+19802531552
+393451694519
Social Media
- @ConsumerChoiceC on Twitter.
- Consumer Choice Center on LinkedIn.
Resources
- Mat Hope. “New Lobby Group Tied to Brexit Climate Science Deniers and Koch Industries Pushes for Deregulation in Europe,” DeSmog UK, July 20, 2017.
- “Profile of registrant: Consumer Choice Center,” Transparency Register. Archived August 17, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Y4eh6
- Harry Cooper and Quentin Aries. “POLITICO Brussels Influence: Consumers for liberty — EU breaches justice rules,” Politico, March 24, 2017. Archived August 16, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/IyAtr
- Consumer Choice Center homepage. Archived August 16, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/K47mO
- “Big Tobacco and right-wing US billionaires funding anti-regulation hardliners in the EU,” Corporate Europe Observatory, July 20, 2017. Archived August 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/qxGAG
- “Climate Alarmism Reconsidered,” Institute of Economic Affairs, November 17, 2004. Archived August 17, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/PNtLm
- “Consumer Choice Center (CCC),” LobbyFacts.eu. Archived August 17, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Ib7B9
- “Students for Liberty,” Conservative Transparency. Accessed August 16, 2017.
- Christopher Snowden. “Nanny State Index 2017” (PDF), EPICENTER. Retrieved from Nannystateindex.org.
- “Get in Touch with SFL,” Students For Liberty. Archived August 16, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/7nKUy
