The Hill reports that the Federal Trade Commission is ordering the largest broadband providers to turn over information on their handling of consumer data as the agency launches an extensive review of privacy practices. "Comcast, Verizon and AT&T were among the companies that received orders from the FTC following a 5-0 vote by the agency's […]
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported on their 2018 activities to administer the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The report highlights both agencies’ law enforcement, education and public outreach, and policy initiatives. The report is here.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeks applications for spots on its advisory committees: To be sure that we hear from a variety of experts with diverse viewpoints, we set up the Consumer Advisory Board, the Community Bank Advisory Council, the Credit Union Advisory Council, and the Academic Research Council. These advisory committees provide us with […]
In its latest foray into the poorly drafted provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Supreme Court unanimously decided today in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP that entities who engage in nonjudicial foreclosure either regularly or as their principal business are not (for that reason) "debt collectors" within the meaning of the […]
The online journal FairWarning this week reported on how lobbyists from the law firm Bracewell LLP have "specialized in helping product makers thwart rulemaking by the Consumer Product Safety Commission." One after another, industries have turned to Bracewell to fight unwanted federal standards, and they have not been disappointed. Along with the [recreational off-highway vehicle] […]
In The Conversation. Excerpt: Compared with 1962, when President Kennedy put consumer concerns on the national agenda, ordinary Americans now have far more robust rights to safety, to information, to choice and to a fair hearing. But consumer rights do not enforce themselves. Public enforcement requires funding and willing leaders. Private enforcement requires legal devices […]
Consumer Product Safety Commission commissioner Robert Adler and law prof Andrew Popper have written The Misuse of Product Misuse: Victim Blaming at Its Worst. Here is the abstract: This paper addresses the legal consequences that surface when a consumer uses a product in a manner not specifically intended by that product's designer or manufacturer. If […]
In the first Consumer Financial Protection Bureau oversight hearing of 2019, "Democrats repeatedly hammered Director Kathy Kraninger and GOP lawmakers for supporting recent changes at the agency." Rollcall has the story, here.
by Jeff Sovern There's been a lot of talk among law professors about the US News plan to measure faculty scholarly impact in part by citations to faculty scholarship (see here for a blog post citing to commentary). While for now US News says it will not incorporate the citation rankings into its general law […]
Here is the opening of the New York Times article on Gottlieb's resignation: Scott Gottlieb, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, known for his aggressive efforts to regulate the tobacco and e-cigarette industries, said on Tuesday that he would resign at the end of the month.The reason he gave was family and his […]