Chris Jay Hoofnagle of Berkeley has written Privacy and Security Through the Lens of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Economics. Here's the abstract: At the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), all privacy and security matters are assigned to a consumer protection economist from the agency’s Bureau of Economics (BE). The BE is an important yet […]
by Paul Alan Levy A California Superior Court judge has issued a decision that threatens to blow a gaping hole in the protection that online hosts for critical speech have enjoyed under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and, therefore, in public’s ability to post critical speech. In Cross v. Facebook, Judge Donald Ayoob […]
Here is a sampling of reaction to the proposed rule on payday pending issued yesterday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. EDITORIAL: A Lame Response to Predatory Loans (The New York Times) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been promising for more than a year to rein in the payday lending industry, whose business model […]
Kevin M. McDonald of VW Credit, Inc. has written Who's Policing the Financial Cop on the Beat? A Call for Judicial Review of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Non-Legislative Rules, 35 Review of Banking and Financial Law, 224 (2015-2016). Here's the abstract: This law review article addresses administrative power in the context of financial services. The Dodd-Frank Act […]
by Paul Alan Levy I blogged back in February about a small-claims act proceeding that a Dallas pet-sitting company called “Prestigious Pets” had filed against a couple named Michelle and Robert Duchouquette over the fact that Michelle Duchouquette had posted a Yelp review presenting some fairly mild criticisms of the company’s policies. The company claimed […]
The Hill reports today: Students who start at four-year, nonprofit colleges only have about a 50-50 chance of graduating, according to a new report released Wednesday. Third Way, a centrist think tank in Washington, studied students with loans at the colleges and found what it called “stunning levels of institutional failure.” The report said private […]
Separate from its new proposed rule on payday lending, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued a "request for information" concerning potentially high-risk loan products and practices that are not specifically covered by the proposed rule. The request for information is focused on: Concerns about risky products not covered: The Bureau is seeking information about […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today proposed a rule aimed at ending payday debt traps by requiring lenders to take steps to make sure consumers have the ability to repay their loans. The proposed rule would also cut off repeated debit attempts that rack up fees. The proposed rule would cover payday loans, auto title loans, […]
From the announcement: Key Industry and Policymaker Questions to be Addressed at the Conference: Is subprime financing fueling a bubble in the market for used cars? What are the parallels and differences between subprime auto lending today and subprime mortgage lending leading up to the financial collapse? What are bank regulators, […]
We have discussed the Obama Administration's new overtime rule. It will significantly raise the pay threshold that triggers exceptions to the general rule that entitles workers to time-and-a-half for every hour they work over 40 per week. We also posted about holes in the overtime rules that exempt various workers entirely. Now, this article by Natalie Kitroeff says that the new […]