Dennis D. Hirsch of Capital has written That's Unfair! Or Is It? Big Data, Discrimination and the FTC's Unfairness Authority, 103 Kentucky Law Journal (2015). Here is the abstract: Big data and data analytics (“big data”) can produce many social and economic benefits. But they can also generate privacy injuries and harmful discrimination. The governance of […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
Scott blogged earlier today about the pending vote to delay protections. Here's Ed Mierzwinski's HuffPo post, House Launches Attack on Servicemember Lending Protections, and Chris Morran of Consumerist weighs in with Congress May Delay Predatory Lending Protection For Military Personnel. Update: the Times' Brent Staples adds "The offending legislation, now before the House Armed Services Committee, deserves to […]
by Jeff Sovern I don't know anyone who likes getting a shot. One of my daughters, as a small girl, would hide under chairs at the pediatrician's office to avoid them, which by the way, was not an effective strategy. But most of us are willing to get stuck with needles if the payoff is large […]
The headline reads Battle Over CFPB Funding Erupts Anew in House and the story is here.
by Jeff Sovern Here. Excerpt: The bill as amended lowers the bureau’s budget cap by $9 million over 10 years. The cap is set at 618.7 million for fiscal year 2015. Given that the law already caps the bureau’s funding and allows increases it only in line with the government’s employment cost index, the lower […]
by Jeff Sovern I just finished listening to the audio version of Barney Frank's autobiography, Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage, which Frank reads himself. I listened to it to learn more about consumer law–Frank was so involved in creating the CFPB that the statute doing so carries his […]
Jason Scott Johnston of Virginia has written Do Product Bans Help Consumers? Questioning the Economic Foundations of Dodd-Frank Mortgage Regulation. Here is the abstract: The system of residential mortgage contact regulation enacted by the 2010 Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 has been justified as necessary to prevent lenders from […]
Jim Hawkins of Houston has asked me to post the following: The AALS Section on Commercial and Related Consumer Law is pleased to announce a Call for Papers for its program co-sponsored by the Section on Women in Legal Education during the AALS 2016 Annual Meeting. The papers from the program will be published in […]
Here. An excerpt: To opponents, the bill might better be named the "Data Insecurity and Breach Hiding Act." Beth Givens, executive director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, says its passage "would be a giant step backward for consumer protection." Even more emphatic is John Breyault of the National Consumers League. "Only in Washington would they […]
by Jeff Sovern Marc James Ayers of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has posted an item, Can the CFPB really prohibit pre-dispute arbitration agreements? in which he wrote: [S]hould the CFPB independently decide to adopt regulations limiting or prohibiting the use of pre-dispute arbitration agreements relating to consumer finance, that regulation could be seen as an […]