Paul M. Schwartz of Berkeley and Daniel J. Solove of George Washington have written Reconciling Personal Information in the United States and European Union. Herer's the abstract: US and EU privacy law diverge greatly. At the foundational level, they diverge in their underlying philosophy: In the US, privacy law focuses on redressing consumer harm and […]
On Thursday, the FTC and CFPB held a joint roundtable titled Life of a Debt: Data Integrity in Debt Collection. Journalist Fred Williams has a report at the Taking Charge blog. An except: At Thursday's meeting, [debt buyer and industry association president Richard] Munroe and other debt buyers didn't repeat the argument the collection industry […]
Here. And an FTC infographic below:
As you will recall, in late April, the Supreme Court decided McBurney v. Young, holding unanimously that neither the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV nor the dormant Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution prevents a state from limiting the right of access to the state's public records to its own citizens. (For […]
Lewis A. Grossman of American has written FDA and the Rise of the Empowered Consumer. Here's the abstract: This paper traces the historical evolution of a view of consumers as informed, rational, and rights-bearing decision makers, and the corresponding diminution of FDA’s role as a paternalistic gatekeeper acting in conjunction with medical and scientific experts […]
We have posted frequently about the ramifications of the states' decisions to opt-in (or not) to the Affordable Care Act's massive medicaid expansion, including just a few days ago, when we noted the large number of states that have either decided not to opt in (19) or are still thinking about it (8). A new […]
A stunning revelation this week about consumer privacy: the federal government has obtained a secret order from a secret court to obtain "telephony metadata" — i.e. who's called whom when and for how long — for all Verizon calls made to or within the United States. The Washington Post story quotes an anonymous expert as […]
Allison has already noted that Sid Wolfe has relinquished his position as Director of Public Citizen Health Research Group in favor of Michael Carome, but I want to add my personal appreciation of his willingness to step aside after so many years of leadership. Organizations that hope to renew themselves depend on leaders who both […]
My office just submitted an amicus brief in the Second Circuit that I thought our readers might find interesting. The brief on behalf of 15 leading national disability rights organizations and academic researchers in Authors Guild, Inc. v. Hathitrust, No. 12-4547, urges the court of appeals to uphold a district court ruling that the HathiTrust's efforts to […]