As this National Consumer Law Center press release explains, seven major banks last month left the payday loan business in response to regulatory pressure and outcry from advocacy organizations. What effects that has on the payday loan market and consumers who particiapte in it remains to be seen. Here's a brief excerpt from NCLC's release: […]
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John J. Mulligan, the Chief Financial Officer of Target, has published Time for smart cards in The Hill. He says that the risks from credit- and debit-card theft can be significantly reduced if the U.S. imbeds "smart card" technology in credit and debit cards. Here's an excerpt (omitting stuff about how swell Target is): The […]
We've posted several times on self-driving cars (also known as driverless cars or autonomous cars). Go, for instance, here, here, and here. But none of our posts considered the tort liability scheme when self-driving cars run into pedestrians, other cars, or property? Sophia Duffy and Jamie Patrick Hopkins have figured it out in Sit, Stay, […]
by Paul Alan Levy Late last month, we went to trial on a motion for sanctions against Med Express, the company that received widespread condemnation last year for suing two eBay customers who had the temerity to leave truthful but negative or even neutral feedback. You may recall that, after two Ohio lawyers stepped forward […]
Facebook is now ten years old. In this thought-provoking piece in the Washington Post, Michael Zimmer, who is an assistant professor at the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and is the director of the Center for Information Policy Research, reviews Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's views over the past ten […]
After protracted negotiations, the Post reports, the House and Senate have agreed on a farm bill that appears headed for passage and the President's signature. One of the key sticking points was how much to cut from the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. The House sought $40 billion in cuts […]
by Brian Wolfman We've told you before about the huge reductions in on-the-road deaths caused by various forms of vehicle safety regulations. And we heard just yesterday about the latest vehicle safety rule-in-the-making–not many years away–being pushed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA): cars talking to each other to avoid crashes. But seat […]
Most smokers start as kids. The FDA wanted the tobacco companies to put gruesome pictures illustrating the health hazards of smoking on all tobacco packages, but the First Amendment got in the way. So, now, according to this AP story, the FDA is running its own ad campaign to warn teens against smoking. Here's an […]
On February 17, Farmed and Dangerous — Chipotle's four-part comedic, but serious series on corporate farming — begins airing on Hulu. Watch the hilarious trailer here or by clicking on the embedded video below. We posted earlier on Chipotle's unusual and evocative video about the treatment of animals in large-scale farming.
Well, so do some consumers, whose federal antitrust suit against the dominant provider of Internet service on commercial airlines — Gogo, Inc. — has survived a motion to dismiss. Go here for a description of the case and the court's decision denying Gogo's motion to dismiss. The case is pending before federal district judge Edward […]