Category Archives: Uncategorized

Industry, Unions Sue to Stop NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s Ban on the Sale of Large Sugary Drinks

A coalition of business groups and labor unions sued in New York state court on Friday to stop New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's ban on the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. Read the complaint and this press account. The complaint claims, among other things, that the regulations are arbitrary and irrational under New […]

Steven Pearlstein opinion piece: The judicial jihad against the regulatory state

That's Steven Pearlstein's characterization of the judiciary's attitude toward federal health and safety regulation in a column published today. Here's an excerpt discussing what Pearlstein views as a recent example: Their latest salvo came just before Labor Day, when a divided three-judge panel threw out rules requiring states to control the air pollution that wafts […]

Netflix Agrees to Closed Captioning on Its Streaming Content as a Result of ADA Lawsuit

As this article by Sheri Qualters explains, "Netflix Inc. has agreed to put closed captions on 100 percent of its streaming content within two years to settle a lawsuit filed by the National Association of the Deaf last year" under the Americans With Disabilities Act. This settlement could encourage other on-line video providers to follow […]

Did the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act Help Consumers?

The purpose of the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) of 1978 was to get federal and state governments out of the business of regulating the economic aspects of the commercial passenger airline industry. (The FAA still regulates the safety of air travel.) Mark Perry, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has found that, despite a […]

FTC Settles Cases About Improper Use of Consumer Information

The Federal Trade Commission announced this morning that it has settled two cases concerning improper use of consumer credit information. The first settlement resolves FTC allegations that the consumer reporting company Equifax Information Services violated the FTC Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act by selling lists of consumers who were late on their mortgage […]

More on the eBay Arbitration Opt-Out Campaign

Last Friday, we told you about eBay's anti-class-action arbitration policy and the campaign urging consumers to opt out of eBay's arbitration clause, which seeks to bar consumers' access to the courts. The campaign has been getting a lot of notice from on-line consumer advocacy sites, such as eCOMMERCEBYTES, Tech Crunch, and The Consumerist. Join the […]