“By listening to and recording users’ voices, voice assistants gather large amounts of personal data that technology companies can share with third parties. Technology experts expect the voice assistant market to continue growing, but there are few federal regulations that apply to voice-activated technology. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has provided recommendations to help […]
Author Archives: Allison Zieve
A recent Washington Post article looks at “a big, fat map of credit scores reproduced from a recent economics paper” and finds “any number of tantalizing questions.” But “most intrigu[ing]” is “that big band of credit-score calamity that stretches across the American South”: “Almost every corner of America’s most populous region — every race, every […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a report examining trends in credit reporting of debt in collections from 2018 to 2022. The report finds that the total number of collections tradelines on credit reports declined by 33%, from 261 million tradelines in 2018 to 175 million tradelines in 2022. The share of consumers with […]
The Department of Energy has proposed new energy efficiency standards for washing machines and refrigerators. Slated to go into effect in 2027, the standards would reduce carbon emissions and save consumers money. DOE’s press release is here. The proposals are here and here.
The National Consumer Law center has announced that Shennan Kavanagh, currently the Chief of the Consumer Protection Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, will be joining NCLC as its next Director of Litigation. Shennan will start next week and will work throughout 2023 alongside Stuart Rossman, NCLC’s longtime Director of Litigation, whom she will […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued “an advisory opinion to protect Americans from double dealing on digital mortgage comparison-shopping platforms. Companies operating these digital platforms appear to shoppers as if they provide objective lender comparisons, but may illegally refer people to only those lenders paying referral fees. When shoppers use a lender that is […]
The Federal Trade Commission has taken its first enforcement action under its Health Breach Notification Rule, The action, filed against the telehealth and prescription drug discount provider GoodRx Holdings Inc., alleges that the company failed to notify consumers and others of its unauthorized disclosures of consumers’ personal health information to Facebook, Google, and other companies. […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed today “a rule to curb excessive credit card late fees that cost American families about $12 billion each year. Major credit card issuers continue to profit off late fees that are protected by an expansive immunity provision. Credit card companies have also relied on this provision to hike fees […]
The Fourth Circuit this week ruled in favor of Virginia residents in a RICO action challenging illegally high interest rates. The court explained: “The Lac Vieux Desert Band of Chippewa Indians purportedly created businesses under tribal law to make small-dollar, high-interest-rate loans to consumers via the internet. The Borrowers allege that the Tribe did so […]
At the Regulatory Review, Trevor Kirby discusses the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposal to create a public registry of agency and court orders against these nonbank financial companies. The post is here.