Texas enacted a law in 2019 to protect people in state-regulated health plans from surprise medical billing — that is, outrageous bills for out-of-network care. The law, which goes into effect in January, creates an arbitration process for insurers and providers to negotiate so that fair prices are charged without involving patients. Rules implementing the […]
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The CFPB's list of rules that it intends to propose or to finalize in the next year is now posted, here. The two rules it expects to finalize this spring are a rule rescinding the 2017 payday lending regulation issued to protect consumers from predatory lending (final rule expected in April 2020) and a cutting […]
At CreditSlips, Professor Adam Levitin writes that a rule proposed today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency "provides that nonbank assignees of loans from banks may charge whatever interest rate the bank may charge." In effect, the proposal "green lights unregulated subprime lending nationwide. In particular, [it] allows unregulated payday lending (although […]
The Federal Trade Commission announced yesterday that it obtained a temporary restraining order halting an operation that bilked consumers out of millions of dollars by pretending to be affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education and falsely promising student loan debt relief. The FTC's press release, with a links to its complaint, is here.
by Paul Alan Levy Because I have written a few pieces about the excesses of the copyright enforcement campaign conducted by Mathew Higbee and his law firm, Higbee and Associates, for nearly a year now I have been getting a steady stream of calls for help from bloggers and others who have received demand letters […]
In 2006, Congress enacted the Military Lending Act, which protects active duty troops by capping interest rates at 36% and provides other safeguards. Now, some members of Congress want to expand those safeguards to protect everyone from high-interest paydays loans with interest rates as high as 200%. NPR has the story, here.
Yesterday, the FTC released guide setting forth rules for when and how online influencers should disclose sponsorships to their followers. The guide is here.
AT&T Mobility and the FTC have settled a case charging that the company misled millions of its smartphone customers by charging them for “unlimited” data plans while reducing their data speeds. FTC filed the case in 2014, alleged that AT&T failed to adequately disclose to its unlimited data plan customers that, if they reach a […]
New York Times journalist Kashmir Hill explains that little-known companies are amassing your data — like food orders and Airbnb messages — and selling the analysis to clients. She also shares information about how to request a copy of the information that these companies have collected about you. The article is here.
The Supreme Court has established a briefing schedule in the Seila Law case, which presents the question whether limitations on presidential removal of the director of the CFPB render the agency's structure unconstitutional. The schedule was jointly proposed by the attorneys representing Seila Law (which challenged an agency enforcement action on the ground that limits […]