TCPA regulators accepted large gifts from entities they regulate

So reports Corey G. Johnson of Pro Publica in FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar Deals. That article focuses on the FCC’s regulation of the entertainment industry but the FCC also implements and interprets the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (which is not to say that the deals in question […]

Is the Trump administration using disparate impact litigation while attacking it?

So suggests an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, The Demise of Disparate-Impact Liability, which carries the subhed The Education Department’s decision to eliminate a civil-rights enforcement tool strikes some as hypocritical. Here’s an excerpt:  [C]ritics say the administration is relying on the kind of statistical evidence used in disparate-impact cases to crack down on […]

Brief comment period for FTC’s AI policy statement ends soon

The Federal Trade Commission published a policy statement on artificial intelligence in the Federal Register on July 7. Public comments are due July 31. Formally, the policy statement addresses application of section 5 of the FTC Act “to companies that market AI systems.” Section 5 prohibits unfair and deceptive practices in the marketplace. Every state […]

CFPB Director-Nominee refuses to commit to notifying Congress about White House calls to aid donors

Well, the Senate Banking Committee’s hearing on the nominee for CFPB director was ridiculously short. Senators got only five minutes to ask questions of three nominees for different agencies. How strange that people complain about the CFPB’s lack of accountability and then spend far less time publicly vetting the nominee to lead the Bureau than, […]

Seventh Circuit rejects takings clause challenge to renter-relocation-assistance requirement

In 2021, Chicago enacted the Keep Chicago Renting ordinance, which  requires those who purchase rental properties through foreclosure to (1) negotiate in good faith with existing tenants for a new rental agreement for at least one year, and (2) if the tenant does not sign a new lease, pay the moving tenant a $10,600 relocation […]

What can consumer advocates get out of CFPB nominee Johnson’s confirmation hearing?

I have no inside information about CFPB director-nominee Brian Johnson’s prospects for confirmation, but unless at least one Republican senator on the Senate Banking Committee votes against his confirmation, he will move to a vote by the entire Senate even if every Committee Democrat votes against him. Two Republican members of the Committee–Senators Tillis and […]

Tenth Circuit Finds “Objectively Verifiable” Requirement for FCRA Claims

Without his consent or knowledge, Robbin Ward’s daughter took out a lease in his name. She was later evicted for nonpayment, and the back-rent owed was transferred to a debt collector. The debt collector reported the debt to credit agencies, who noted it on Mr. Ward’s credit report.  Mr. Ward disputed the debt claiming identity […]