In May, we told you about a privacy case against Facebook that was settled without much benefit to the class. The case involved Facebook’s practice (called “Sponsored Stories”) of featuring the names and images of its users in advertising without the users’ consent. As alleged in the complaint, when a user interacts with a company […]
We've written before about Facebook's "Sponsored Stories" program that repackages its users' interactions with companies as ads for those companies. (Public Citizen objected when the case was settled without much benefit to the class.) Now Facebook is apparently retiring the "Sponsored Stories" name but not the general idea. According to Facebook's blog post last week, […]
Fifteen years ago, the Department of Justice sued the major cigarette companies, alleging that the companies conspired to mislead consumers about the risks of tobacco products. The US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled for DOJ, and the ruling was upheld on appeal. Among other things, to remedy the companies’ misleading statements, the […]
The federal government's faulty Affordable Care Act (ACA) website — and similar problems on some state-run ACA websites — may not be the biggest problem facing the ACA's implementation. As this article by Jonathan Easley explains, a new survey conducted by Enroll America, "a nonprofit with close ties to the Obama administration that is aiming […]
On his blog at U.S. PIRG, Ed Mierzwinski expounds on the Target data breach in a post entitled Target says "Oops, 70-110 million consumers hacked." He points out that 70 to 100 million, "not the original 40 million customers, had their credit or debit card numbers hacked in December (or possibly at other times). Even […]
Here. The article describes the opposition from the industry to the plan–which includes threats not to make mortgage loans in the future in communities that use eminent domain to seize underwater home–and also discusses what happened in 2002 when the industry made good on such threats in response to a different law: In 2002, the […]
WaPo has the article about the past and present, A watchdog grows up: The inside story of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, while the Times covers the future in Federal Consumer Agency Ponders Its Next Crusades. Both are worth a read. (HT: Ed Mierzwinski)
Go here or click on the embedded video below to watch Jon Stewart's two-part interview of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray. (The second part of the interview starts right after the first part ends.) The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook
For several years, consumers have brought suit against manufacturers of processed foods (for example, bottled teas, granola bars, and cereals) advertised as “all natural.” In these lawsuits, the consumer alleges that the all-natural claim is false and misleading because the foods are not in fact “all natural.” Early cases often focused on the use of […]