Category Archives: Uncategorized

FCC unveils nutrition-like labels for Internet service

The Federal Communications Commission is encouraging companies that sell monthly Internet service to use labels that resemble nutritional-fact food labels to inform customers about price and performance of service. The FCC says that the “broadband facts” labels will help consumers make informed decisions about the purchase of broadband service. The Hill has the story, here. […]

DOJ resumes controvesial program regarding forfeiture of innocent people’s assets

Asset forfeiture is the controversial practice of taking people's stuff when they may be involved in criminal activity. Why is the program controversial? Because sometimes the government seizes the assets of people who are innocent and it's very difficult to get it back. Compounding the problem is a racial disparity in whose stuff gets taken. […]

Education Dep’t rehires debt collectors fired for misleading consumers

As UPI reports: Coast Professional and National Recoveries were among the five private collection agencies terminated in February 2015 after they made "materially inaccurate representations" to borrowers in default, the Education Department said. But in the final few months of 2015, Coast Professional was given an additional $863.5 million worth of student loans, and National […]

LA Times’ David Lazarus Column on Native Advertising

Here.  Excerpt: The problem is one of disclosure. Do news organizations do a sufficient job of helping people understand that one story or link is real news while another was provided by an advertiser? * * * Consumers might say: "If it's interesting content, what's the difference?" The difference is that the goal of journalism […]

A Sneaky Way of Falsely Enhancing Reputation Through the Suppression of Negative Reviews

by Paul Alan Levy Techdirt carries word of an ingenious scheme that two California lawyers have been running to get unflattering reviews removed from Google’s search results without ever proving defamation in an adversary proceeding and, indeed, without risk of an adversary proceeding. Opinion Corp., which hosts the consumer review site PissedConsumer.com, noticed a suspicious […]