Category Archives: Uncategorized

Report urges major changes at FDA

The Washington Post reports that an outside group that was asked to examine problems at the Food and Drug Administration in the wake of an infant formula crisis this year offered a scathing indictment of the agency’s structure and culture and recommended major restructuring. The task force’s first suggestion was to create separate food and […]

Judge strikes down regulation on graphic warnings for cigarettes

In 2010, Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which, among other things, required the Food and Drug Administration to issue a rule requiring graphic warning labels covering the top half of the front and back of cigarette packs and 20% of cigarette advertising. Ruling in a case challenging the regulation, brought […]

“Ringless voicemails” to cell phones are subject to robocalling restrictions

The Federal Communications Commission recently issued a unanimous decision on ringless voicemails — that is, messages left in voicemail boxes without ringing the consumers' cell phones. The FCC determined that ringless voicemails are “calls” and, therefore, require consumers’ prior express consent under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The FCC's press release and ruling are available […]

CPSC issues rule to protect children from strangulation by window covering cords. Industry association sues.

Nearly half of the children caught in cords for shades, blinds, or other window coverings die — close to 100 kids died of strangulation from window covering cords in 2021 — according to data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Two years ago, Canada announced a regulation strictly limiting the length of window covering cords […]

Tobacco companies challenge California law barring sales of flavored tobacco products

Having lost a motion for a preliminary injunction in the lower courts, various tobacco companies are asking the Supreme Court to enjoin a California law banning the sale of flavored tobacco products from going into effect as scheduled on December 22. The companies argue that the federal Tobacco Control Act preempts the state law and […]

Appeal tests corporate strategy to bar mass arbitration

Alison Frankl at Reuters writes that a pending appeal asks the Ninth Circuit to approve arbitration provisions that block "mass arbitrations." As the article explains: "Verizon’s consumer contract, in essence, eliminates consumers’ ability to arbitrate en masse, thus neutralizing their leverage from the steep initial arbitration fees companies are required to pay under AAA rules. […]

CPSC tips for holiday cooking, decorating and toy shopping; CPSC report on toy-related injuries

The Consumer Product Safety Commission today issued "Top tips for Holiday cooking, decorating and toy shopping." Scroll down on this page. CPSC also issued a report called Toy-Related Deaths and Injuries for 2021. According to the report, there were more than 152,000 toy-related, emergency department-treated injuries to children younger than 15 years of age, including […]

FTC releases data on do-not-call registry, robocall complaints, and consumer complaints

The Federal Trade Commission today released the National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2022. The Data Book provides the most recent fiscal year information available on robocall complaints, the types of calls consumers reported to the FTC, and a complete state-by-state analysis. According to the Data Book, complaints about imposter calls […]

CFPB report finds credit reporting failures, junk fees, and mishandling of COVID-19 protections

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a new Supervisory Highlights report on legal violations identified during the CFPB’s supervisory examinations in the first half of 2022. The report details key findings across consumer financial products and services, including how consumer reporting companies and data furnishers continued to violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act by […]