… is the goal of this Public Citizen report, worth a read. This excerpt from the introduction gives a flavor: As Google has continued to flourish, it has become ever bolder and more sophisticated in its methods to collect and combine information about individuals to generate revenue. Most Google users are likely aware that Google […]
Author Archives: Scott Michelman
Wading into the the net neutrality debate this week, President Obama came out strongly for it, urging the FCC to reject its proposed "fast lane" approach to regulating the internet (which we've previously discussed here) and to ensure equal access. Yesterday, the National Law Journal looked back and found support for the President's position in […]
Check out PrivacyGrade.org, which analyzed over 1 million applications and ranked them based on how the extent of an application's collection of information about the user matched up with the user's expectations. A key finding from the site, reports CNN Money, is that some of the worst apps in terms of privacy are apps aimed […]
This afternoon, the Supreme Court decided to hear a case raising the question whether Obamacare subsidies to assist individuals in the purchase of health insurance apply to purchasers at all health care exchanges under the law or only those run by states instead of the federal government. The Fourth Circuit adopted the former interpretation, granting Chevron […]
As the New York Times reports, The Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday that it had settled its first consumer-protection lawsuit against a company for using “deceptive sales claims and phony legal threats” to try to get unsuspecting companies to license patents. At issue is the practice of a company called MPHJ Technology Investments, described […]
The U.S. Department of Education, drawing applause from the Treasury Department, has moved to increase funding for student loan servicers. The goal is to improve customer service for students, according to the administration. The catch? Servicers get the money anyway, whether or not service improves. The Huffington Post explains the concern, and Senator's Warren's position: […]
In what might be analogized to Mitt Romeny's infamous 47-percent remark, veteran lobbyist Richard Berman advised oil and gas companies to pursue smear campaigns to discredit environmental activists, according to a recent New York Times story on a secretly-recorded speech Berman made to industry executives in June. This paragraph from the Times story gives a […]
Attorneys general are now the object of aggressive pursuit by lobbyists and lawyers who use campaign contributions, personal appeals at lavish corporate-sponsored conferences and other means to push them to drop investigations, change policies, negotiate favorable settlements or pressure federal regulators, an investigation by The New York Times has found. For instance, the Times reports: […]
The NYT reports: Over the last two years, lawmakers in at least eight states have voted to increase the fees or the interest rates that lenders can charge on certain personal loans used by millions of borrowers with subpar credit. The overhaul of the state lending laws comes after a lobbying push by the consumer […]
…is laid out persuasively here, by fellow CL&P blogger Paul Bland of Public Justice. He demonstrates why forced arbitration contravenes Tea Party principles.