With only hours remaining in the countdown to tomorrow’s net neutrality vote, everyone from Silicon Valley to Capitol Hill is getting their last words in. At a tech policy event in Washington, DC yesterday, a panel of ISP executives spoke about the future of competition, innovation, and network deployment as the regulations and the marketplace change around them. And when the moderator directly asked the speakers if Title II regulation would diminish investment in their networks, the answer was the same all around: nope. [More]
Government Policy
CFPB Wants Better, Faster Database Of Credit Card Agreements
By 2.25.15
Much like a restaurant that has to shutter for a short time while installing new kitchen equipment, federal regulators occasionally have to press pause on an important process to fix things for the long haul. So in order to improve the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s public database of credit card agreements, the agency is planning to give banks a brief break from having to file those documents with the system. [More]
SCOTUS: Dentists Can’t Bar Other Businesses From Offering Teeth-Whitening Services
By 2.25.15
When you want to get your pearly whites professionally polished to their pearliest and whitest, going to the dentist doesn’t have to be the only option, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled today. The justices had looked at a case brought by the Federal Trade Commission against a North Carolina state board dominated by dentists that the agency said had unlawfully excluded non-dentists from teeth-whitening services. [More]
Nearly A Year After Recall, Alli Weight-Loss Pills Return To Stores
By 2.25.15
In March 2014, drug giant GlaxoSmithKline issued a voluntary recall of the popular alli weight-loss pill over concerns about possible package tampering. Nearly a year later, the over-the-counter drug is finally coming back to stores. [More]
Can A Website Get You Out Of A Traffic Ticket?
By 2.25.15
It’s scary to get a traffic ticket, especially if you drive for a living or there’s a hike to your insurance on the line that you can’t afford, not to mention paying the fine. It makes sense to pay a service advertising that it can help get you out of a ticket for a modest fee that’s less than your fine. Or does it? [More]
What You Need To Know About Tomorrow’s Votes On Net Neutrality And Municipal Broadband
By 2.25.15
On Thursday morning, the Federal Communications Commission will sit down to discuss and vote on two big issues — net neutrality and municipal broadband — that the cable and telecom industries have campaigned heavily to defeat and obscure. Because of these industry-backed efforts and the legalese involved, many consumers are having difficulty separating myth from reality. In an effort to cut through that haze, we’ve attempted to answer the most pressing questions about these two topics before tomorrow’s vote. [More]
FTC Files Lawsuit To Shut Down Deceptive Payday Loan Debt Relief Operation
By 2.24.15
It’s probably safe to assume that consumers stuck in the payday loan debt-trap have enough financial issues without being deceived by a company promising to make their debts disappear. There may be one less unsavory debt relief company around after the Federal Trade Commission sued to stop an operation that targeted millions of consumers. [More]
Current, Former Corinthian College Students Go On “Debt Strike,” Refuse To Pay Private & Federal Loans
By 2.24.15
With for-profit educator Corinthian Colleges Inc. selling off campuses and closing schools, thousands of Everest, WyoTech, and Heald College students are waiting to learn the fate of the more than $1 billion in private and federal student loan debt used to finance their education. While the Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have worked to secure deals in which some of that debt will be forgiven, some students are increasing the pressure on such deals by staging a “debt strike.” [More]
These 2 Charts From Comcast Show Why Net Neutrality Is Vital
By 2.24.15
Comcast released its quarterly earnings report and the timing couldn’t be better, with the FCC set to vote on Chairman Tom Wheeler’s net neutrality proposal later this week. [More]
Feds Warn: These Melanoma Detection Apps Aren’t Supported By Scientific Evidence
By 2.23.15
Early detection of cancer can help save lives and make treatment easier, so the idea of mobile app that can spot possible skin might seem like a godsend… if there were any science to back it up. [More]
FTC: No Scientific Proof That Mosquito Shield Bands Actually Work
By 2.23.15
Mint oil smells very nice, but the marketing materials for Viatek’s Mosquito Shield Bands claimed that the plant substance can do more than perfume the air. Their plastic bands were supposed to use the oil to create a 5-foot mosquito-free zone around the wearer. Do they work? No, the Federal Trade Commission says. Not really. [More]
Twitter Decides It Loves Net Neutrality, Endorses Proposed FCC Plan
By 2.23.15
With the FCC set at long last to vote on strong net neutrality protections later this week, everyone is getting their last digs in. While many tech companies have previously spoken out on the issue, both for and against, the big social networks have been slow to plant their flags. That changed today, when Twitter came out swinging, cheering on the FCC’s plan. [More]
Honda President, Chief Officer Out Following Record Fine And Reporting Issues
By 2.23.15
Following a number of issues including a record $70 million fine from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for reporting inaccuracies and the recall of millions of vehicles, Honda announced a shakeup of its top office. [More]
Mercedes-Benz Recalls Nearly 150,000 Sedans Because Fires Aren’t Part Of The Driving Experience
By 2.23.15
There are a number of places you might expect to see a fire: camping, in the fireplace on a cold night. But one place you don’t want to experience a blaze is in your car’s engine. For that reason Mercedes-Benz is recalling nearly 150,000 sedans and station wagons. [More]
Judges Question FCC’s Need To Share What Comcast & DirecTV Pay To Broadcasters
By 2.20.15
Those following the merger of Comcast with Time Warner Cable and AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV may remember that the FCC had hoped to make some of the cable companies’ confidential contract information available to parties with a direct interest in these deals. In November, a federal appeals court preliminarily sided with the broadcasters and temporarily blocked the FCC from sharing this info, and this morning the court heard arguments from both sides on whether or not these contracts should be kept under lock and key for good. [More]
Takata To Be Fined $14K Per Day Until It Cooperates With Airbag Defect Investigation
By 2.20.15
Officials with Japanese auto parts manufacturer Takata Corp. have continuously said they would assist U.S. regulators in their investigation regarding millions of potentially defective airbags that can spew pieces of shrapnel at passengers upon deployment. But the company doesn’t appear to be keeping its word and now faces a $14,000 per day fine until it hands over documents and other data pertinent to the investigation into airbags that have been linked to at least five deaths. [More]
FTC Challenges Sysco Acquisition Of US Foods
By 2.19.15
Sysco’s in-person meetings with the Federal Trade Commission didn’t have the desired effect. The foodservice supply giant wanted approval for its planned acquisition of competitor U.S. Foods, but the FTC thinks that Sysco wants to gobble up too much of the market. The commissioners voted 3-2 to block the merger. [More]
More Than 50M Consumers Have Free Access to Credit Scores, But Some Don’t Know What To Do With Them
By 2.19.15
Last year the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau began an initiative urging credit card issues to provide consumers with free credit scores on their monthly bills. Since then, a number of financial institutions have begun providing the information, leading more than 50 million consumers to have free and regular access to their scores. [More]
