Consumers report losing $2.7 billion to social media scams since 2021

New data from the Federal Trade Commission shows that scams originating on social media have accounted for $2.7 billion in reported losses since 2021, more than any other contact method. The FTC says that the most frequently reported scams on social media are related to online shopping, with 44 percent of reports pointing to fraud […]

3rd Circuit Holds FCRA Requires Credit Furnishers to Investigate All Indirect Disputes

When a consumer finds an error on his or her credit report, the FCRA provides two mechanisms for raising a dispute. The consumer can raise a “direct” dispute with the person or entity that furnished the incorrect or incomplete information (the “furnisher”), or an “indirect” dispute with the credit reporting agency, which then must provide […]

Consumer agencies file joint amicus brief in FCRA dispute

The Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau together filed an amicus brief in a case before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in support of consumer protections under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The agencies’ brief supports the appeal of the district court’s decision in Suluki v. Credit One Bank, NA. […]

Net neutrality is back

Welcome back, net neutrality. This week, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced a proposal to restore FCC policies for the internet and oversight of internet service providers. Generally, net neutrality is a response to internet service providers treating internet users and traffic differently. The FCC has been here before. Most recently, the agency adopted open internet […]

FTC Sues Amazon for Anti-Competitive Conduct

Today, the FTC, along with 17 state attorneys general, sued Amazon in the Western District of Washington, arguing that it “is a monopolist that uses a set of interlocking anticompetitive and unfair strategies to illegally maintain its monopoly power.” The lawsuit alleges anticompetitive conduct both in the consumer-facing market, and in the services Amazon offers […]

Higbee Threatens Copyright Enforcement of Stale Claims (and Other Turns for the Worse)

Over the past few years, since I started to pay attention to copyright infringement demand letters  sent by the law firm of Mathew Higbee, and after we filed a few declaratory judgment actions on behalf of discussion forums whose users had posted images or inline links to images, I thought I had perceived an improvement […]