For years, there have been accusations of Internet service providers deliberately slowing down or degrading the quality of data from streaming video services. Recently, a company that provides a good deal of bandwidth to Netflix accused Verizon of allowing traffic to streaming video traffic to get snarled in bottlenecks. Newly introduced legislation would outlaw the practice of throttling and degrading video content. [More]
Government Policy
The Cover Model Of Healthcare.gov Rollout Speaks Out
By 11.13.13
Imagine having millions of people, everyone from frustrated citizens to prominent comedians, making jokes about your appearance and speculating about your life story based on one photo. That’s what life has been like for Adriana, a woman who sat to have her picture taken for a stock photo and ended up as the face of a government fiasco. [More]
TV Pitchman Kevin Trudeau Found Guilty Of Making Misleading Weight-Loss Claims In Infomercials
By 11.13.13
We’ve been following the saga of former bestselling weight loss guru and TV pitchman Kevin Trudeau for about six years, since he was found in contempt of court for violating a 2004 FTC settlement banning him from misrepresenting the content of his books. The Trudeau tale is nearing a final chapter now that he faces possible jail time after being found guilty of criminal contempt for misleading statements in his infomercials. [More]
From Start To Finish, The Student Loan Industry Is In Need Of Massive Overhaul
By 11.13.13
Student loan debt in the U.S. has passed the $1 trillion mark while the cost of an education continues to outpace inflation, meaning tomorrow’s students will need to take on even more debt than the millions of graduates who already owe money. A new report from our coworkers at Consumers Union shows just how screwed up and unbalanced the student loan system is at every step of the way. [More]
Did You File A Claim In Price-Fixing Class Action Against EA? Watch Your Mail
By 11.12.13
Did you file a claim in the recent class action settlement with EA that claimed they took advantage of an unfair marketplace for officially licensed football games? Watch your mailbox: tipsters report receiving their settlement checks in the mail. [More]
Salads And Wraps Recalled From Walgreens, Whole Foods, And Trader Joe’s
By 11.12.13
The bad news is that 181,620 pounds of chicken and ham salads sold in popular retail outlets like Walgreens, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s has been recalled due to possible contamination with E. coli bacteria. The good news, if such a thing is possible, is that this isn’t yet another iteration of the massive and scary Foster Farms salmonella recall from last month. [More]
FDA Looking To Close Loophole That Slowed Safety Warnings On Generics
By 11.8.13
Imagine for a moment the tale of two friends, Jim and Joe. Jim takes Gleemonex, which makes it feel like it’s 72 degrees in your head all the time. Joe takes a generic form of the drug, which we’ll call walmonex. If the folks who make Gleemonex realize there’s a problem with the drug, they can immediately slap a warning on the product before getting FDA approval, but if the makers of the walmonex discover that same problem, they currently have to wait for the FDA and the brand-name drug makers to review the issue. This loophole is, quite obviously, a bad thing for consumers. So it’s good news that the FDA is now looking to close it. [More]
FDA Working On A Plan To Completely Remove Trans Fat From Our Food Supply
By 11.7.13
While some restaurants proudly tout the lack of artificial trans fat in their menu items and grocery store aisles are peppered with items labeled trans fat free, if the Food and Drug Administration has its way, no one will have trans fat in any food. The FDA has apparently had it up to here with the stuff, and is starting a process that will take trans fat out of our entire food supply. [More]
Apple Slams Government ‘Gag Order’ On Customer Data Requests
By 11.6.13
Last night, Apple provided some very vague details about the number of requests for customer information it received from U.S. law enforcement and national security officials. At the same time, the company made it very clear that it would provide more precise information about the number of these requests, if only the government would let it. [More]
Cody Foster & Co. Speaks Up, Insists They Didn’t Steal Designs On Purpose
By 11.5.13
What’s a folk design and what’s an original design? The origin of a design like a rag doll is lost to memory, but should the specifics of a given doll’s design be the property of its designer? That’s the question at the core of the ongoing controversy over Nebraska-based holiday trinket maker Cody Foster and its items that strongly resemble those sold by independent artists. [More]
Google Exec To NSA: You Don’t Need To Spy On Everyone To Catch A Few Evil People
By 11.4.13
Last week, it was revealed that the National Security Agency had managed to tap into the private connections between Google’s supposedly secure data centers, effectively giving the agency unfettered access to e-mails, voicemails, and cloud-stored files of all Google users. Not surprisingly, this isn’t sitting well with the people at the Internet giant. [More]
Suspected Gunman In Custody After Shots Reported At Los Angeles Airport
By 11.1.13
Police have a suspected gunman in custody at Los Angeles International Airport after a shooting there this morning that reportedly wounded multiple people and has disrupted flights across the nation. Some flights are still being allowed to depart, but it seems no LAX-bound planes will be landing there for now. [More]
Flexible Spending Accounts Get A Little Less Inflexible With Ability To Roll Money Over
By 11.1.13
Some 14 million American families participate in employer-sponsored flexible spending accounts that let you put pre-tax money into an account to be used on medical expenses that aren’t covered by insurance. But millions of consumers elect not to have an FSA because of the “use it or lose it” requirement that forfeits unused funds at the end of the year. So in an effort to get people participating, the IRS will be allowing companies to offer FSAs that let employees roll over up to $500 in unused funds into the next year. [More]
Snoopy Sno-Cone Machines Recalled Because “Brass Rivet” Is Not A Very Tasty Flavor
By 11.1.13
LaRose Industries, the company that made the Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine that your kid used once and is now sitting in a closet somewhere, has recalled the gadget over concerns that a brass rivet in the machine might fall into a shaved-ice treat. [More]
How A $36 Parking Ticket Cost A Driver More Than $800
By 10.31.13
You get a parking ticket and pay it a little late, so the fine goes up $33. That happens. You send off a money order and assume that must be the end of the transaction. Isn’t it? Not for one man whose ordeal with a parking ticket in San Jose, California began in December 2006 and didn’t end until this week. [More]
FDA: There Are Gross Things (Like Bug Parts) In 12% Of Imported Spices
By 10.31.13
It’s never going to be a fun read when a report from the Food and Drug Administration includes the words “pathogen,” “filth” and “insects.” Unless your idea of fun includes learning that 12% of the spices we import for food purposes are contaminated. [More]
Court To Hear Arguments In Case That Could Allow Companies To Litigate In Secret
By 10.30.13
Companies don’t ever want the public to know they’re involved in lawsuits. This is one of the many reasons that a growing number of businesses now force consumers to agree to mandatory arbitration for resolving disputes; it keeps the fight out of the public eye and often doesn’t allow for multiple consumers to join their complaints. Tomorrow, a federal appeals court will hear arguments regarding a case that ultimately could give companies the ability to litigate cases under a veil of secrecy. [More]
NSA Ticks Off Google & Yahoo With Report Of Snooping On Private Data Centers
By 10.30.13
The latest round of revelations about National Security Agency cyber-snooping includes information that the NSA infiltrated private networks operated by Google and Yahoo. Not surprisingly, these two titans of the Internet are not pleased to find out about the government’s invasive actions. [More]
