The report, by the New Economy Project, is titled The Debt Collection Racket in New York: How the Industry Violates Due Process and Perpetuates Economic Inequality. Some excerpts: Over the past decade, the number of debt collection lawsuits filed in New York’s courts has exploded, with upwards of 200,000 cases filed in 2011 alone. Creditors […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
Here. When consumers see celibrities endorse products on TV, they are likely to believe that the celebrities are being paid. Do consumers have the same reaction to tweets endorsing things? Should celebrities disclose that when they are paid for tweets?
Paul M. Schwartz of Berkeley and Daniel J. Solove of George Washington have written Reconciling Personal Information in the United States and European Union. Herer's the abstract: US and EU privacy law diverge greatly. At the foundational level, they diverge in their underlying philosophy: In the US, privacy law focuses on redressing consumer harm and […]
On Thursday, the FTC and CFPB held a joint roundtable titled Life of a Debt: Data Integrity in Debt Collection. Journalist Fred Williams has a report at the Taking Charge blog. An except: At Thursday's meeting, [debt buyer and industry association president Richard] Munroe and other debt buyers didn't repeat the argument the collection industry […]
Here. And an FTC infographic below:
Lewis A. Grossman of American has written FDA and the Rise of the Empowered Consumer. Here's the abstract: This paper traces the historical evolution of a view of consumers as informed, rational, and rights-bearing decision makers, and the corresponding diminution of FDA’s role as a paternalistic gatekeeper acting in conjunction with medical and scientific experts […]
by Jeff Sovern Last week, the Times ran an article about companies that sell consumer data to businesses but won't provide it to the consumers involved. Despite the headline, reprinted above, I thought the article didn't really explain why companies won't provide the information to consumers. So I wrote a letter with my explanation, which […]
by Jeff Sovern Tomorrow's Sunday Times has a series of letters on the issue of whether society needs more regulation or less. One letter, by Dennis Canfield of Western Springs, Ill., opines: The problem with the current state of government involvement in our daily lives is that the overwhelming majority of it — from employment regulations […]