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Christian Tamotsu Fjeld

Senior Vice President

CTFjeld@mlstrategies.com

+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.  

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Education

  • George Washington School of Law (JD)
  • Oberlin College (BA)

Recent Insights

News & Press

Events

Viewpoints

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Two weeks ago, on March 9, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent warning letters to seven companies that allegedly made false or deceptive claims about their products’ ability to treat Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).  
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On Wednesday, key Members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), urging the Commission “to take immediate action to protect consumers from price gouging during this [COVID-19] declared public emergency.” 
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Read about the federal government’s response to COVID-19, including $8B in emergency funding and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act pending in the House.
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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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Christian Fjeld 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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The Impact of AI

February 3, 2020|

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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Read about infrastructure-related bills and measures before Congress, including the surface transportation and Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) reauthorizations.
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This article covers key Congressional cybersecurity initiatives, including the National Defense Authorization Act and House and Senate cybersecurity bills, as well as DoD and GAO reports on cybersecurity risks.

News & Press

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Privacy Implications of the Facebook Whistleblower Testimony

October 19, 2021 | The National Law Review

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.
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.