For years, subjects of CFPB enforcement actions have challenged the constitutionality of the agency's structure, arguing that separation-of-powers principles forbid Congress to grant enforcement authority to an independent agency whose director is protected against being fired without cause by the President. Throughout that time, the agency has defended its own constitutionality, and has prevailed in […]
by Paul Alan Levy Back in June 2019, the last time I had occasion to write about Mathew Higbee’s bullying pursuit of copyright claims against alleged infringers, he had just backed away from a confrontation on the part of one of the longtime members of his stable of clients, Quang-Tuan Luong, and had, indeed, suggested […]
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In May, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed new Fair Debt Collection Practices Act rules. In this op-ed, Jennifer Wagner (of Mountain State Justice) and Linda Frame (of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy) explain why the CFPB's proposed rules, issued under a law meant to curb debt-collection harassment, actually authorize debt-collection harassment. […]
The Federal Trade Commission has issued a staff report on class-action notices, redress methods, claims rates, and check-cashing rates based on the agency's survey of the results in 149 consumer class actions. The FTC has put together this home page on the report, which contains links to related information. Consistent with other data and anecdotal […]
That's the title of this piece in The Hill by law prof Lauren Willis. WIllis's bio notes that "[s]he is a leading critic of the use of financial education, disclosures, and 'nudges' (default settings) in consumer policy-making." Willis's Hill piece applies that critique to the regulatory approach of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the direction […]
by Jeff Sovern The Dodd-Frank Act gives the CFPB the power to act against entities within the CFPB's jurisdiction for engaging in abusive practices. See 12 USC 5531. Though that section explains what the limits are to the Bureau's power to proscribe abusive conduct, the industry has long claimed that it needs additional guidance as […]
ProPublica has a new report out today called "The Deadly Race: How Amazon Hooked America on Fast Delivery While Avoiding Responsibility for Crashes." The report explains that "Amazon has built a huge logistics operation in recent years to get more goods to customers’ homes in less and less time. As it moves to reduce its […]
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program encourages graduates to work in public service jobs by forgiving federal student loan balances for borrowers who have made 10 years of payments while in certain public service jobs. In 2018, after the Department of Education forgave few loans, Congress temporarily expanded the program to include more borrowers. According […]
Last year, the California legislature passed the California Consumer Privacy Act, which grants internet users the right to see the personal information that companies collect about them and stop it from being sold. The law applies only to residents of California, but privacy advocates hope it might serve as a model for other states or […]