Remember that Tom Hanks movie where he’s really lonely and far from home? No, not Cast Away (Wilson! [tear]), the other one where he faces seemingly insurmountable obstacles while living in limbo, The Terminal. Accused NSA leaker Edward Snowden is a lot like the guy Hank portrays in the flick who’s stuck in JFK Airport. That’s because the character is based on a real person, and there are plenty of other transit zone dwellers on the books. [More]
Government Policy
Criticize Dentist On Yelp, Get Threatened With Felony ‘Internet Business Defamation’
By 6.27.13
A Texas mother took her child to a dentist who only works on children based on the referral of the family’s regular dentist. She didn’t really like the specialist, and wrote a relatively short, clear Yelp review explaining why. That got her a letter from the dentist’s attorney ordering her to take down her review, OR ELSE. [More]
Mortgage Broker To Pay Record $7.5M Penalty Over Allegations It Violated “Do Not Call” Rules
By 6.27.13
The Federal Trade Commission is marking the 10-year anniversary of the “Do Not Call” registry by announcing a $7.5 million civil penalty against a mortgage broker that had allegedly targeted U.S. servicemembers. It’s the largest fee the FTC has ever collected related to the Do Not Call provisions Telemarketing Sales Rule, and also serves as warning to companies trying to push deceptive mortgage ads. [More]
City Claims 80-Year-Old Couple Used 440,000 Gallons Of Water In A Month
By 6.27.13
An 80-year-old California man concedes that it’s entirely possible that he has used 440,000 gallons of water in one month, and that he and his wife really do owe the city $11,000. It’s possible if the city has been pumping dehydrated water into his house. [More]
FTC Initiative Wants You To “Reclaim Your Name” From Big Data Brokers
By 6.27.13
We all know that there are companies out there sucking up consumers’ information and selling it — sometimes to people or entities they shouldn’t — but what no one really knows is exactly who has that data. While there are a few ways for consumers to check activity data on specific sites, there’s no catch-all resource for people to go to and see what their name/info is up to. The Federal Trade Commission wants to change that with a “Reclaim Your Name” proposal. [More]
DOT Fines Delta $750,000 For Breaking Rules On Passenger-Bumping
By 6.27.13
Delta isn’t great about letting passengers volunteer to be bumped off an oversold flight instead of just bumping them by force. The company just doesn’t have enough CEOs to go around and offer seats to people who need to get home. Don’t take our word for it: the U.S. Department of Transportation gave them a public reprimand and ordered the airline to pay a penalty of $750,000. [More]
FTC To Search Engines: Do A Better Job Of Labeling Paid Search Results As Ads
By 6.26.13
A decade ago, the Federal Trade Commission told the major Internet search engines that they should be more transparent about search results that received premium placement because the advertiser paid for it. The companies eventually obliged, but the FTC says that search engines have backslid and begun being less-than-transparent again, and that they could still do more to distinguish between ads and organic search results. [More]
FDA Okays Two New Cigarettes Because They Are Just As Harmful As What’s Already Available
By 6.25.13
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 gave the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products. Since then, no new tobacco products have been released on the U.S. market, but that’s about to change with the FDA giving the green light to a pair of new cigarette offerings that the agency says are no better or worse for you than what’s already legally available. [More]
Feds And Colleges Now Blacklisting Student-Aid Scammers
By 6.24.13
More than 12 million U.S. college students applied for federal aid for the school year starting this fall, but around 126,000 of these applicants have been flagged by schools and the government as potential scammers looking to cash aid checks without ever intending to get an education. [More]
FTC To Google: Hang On A Minute While We Investigate This Waze Deal
By 6.24.13
Google might want to start trying to pour the bubbly it poured over its $1.1 billion acquisition of social mapping company Waze back into the bottle, at least until the Federal Trade Commission is done with its antitrust review of the deal. The company confirmed that it’s been contacted by antitrust lawyers from the FTC, which isn’t a surprise. You take one huge company and have it buy up another smaller one, and the FTC will be there. [More]
11 Tons Of Maybe Contaminated Ground Beef Recalled In Midwest And South
By 6.21.13
National Beef in Kansas shipped out 22,737 pounds of beef (about 11 tons) that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a nasty strain that’s particularly dangerous to the elderly. Meat from the affected packages may have ended up at retailers and food service establishments in eleven different states. [More]
Networks To FCC: No One’s Watching Our Shows, So Stop Being So Uptight About Decency Standards
By 6.21.13
Remember the days when basic cable was considered a joke and all the real shows were on the broadcast networks? Back in those days, it sort of made sense that the FCC might care about things like bad language, nudity (and supposedly violence, though that never really seemed to be an issue) on network TV. But now, with the majority of viewers spending their TV-watching time glued to basic cable shows featuring loudmouthed, obnoxious, hateful, “real” people shouting at each other in between commercials, the networks are asking the FCC to lighten the heck up. [More]
USDA Approves Label That Will Identify Products From Animals Fed A Non-GMO Diet
By 6.21.13
There will be a bit more transparency in the grocery aisle soon, at least for some products. The United State’s Agriculture Department has given the go-ahead to a label that will tout meat and liquid egg products as being free of genetically modified ingredients. This doesn’t mean, however, that the USDA is requiring all meat and poultry processors to do so, but it’s the first time the department has approved a non-GMO label. [More]
The TSA’s Solution For My Reluctance To Open Baby Food Jars? A Pat-Down
By 6.19.13
While we’re not fans of hands-on pat-downs from security, we understand that they exist as an alternative or a supplement to being screened at a scanner. But one Consumerist reader wants to know why a pat-down would be viewed as a way to ensure that he’s not carrying explosive materials in baby food jars. [More]
Incoming FCC Chair Calls For End To Ban On Unlocking Cell Phones
By 6.19.13
Earlier this year, an ill-advised ruling by the Librarian of Congress made it illegal for cellphone owners to unlock their new wireless devices — thus allowing the phones to be used on compatible networks — without permission from their current carriers. Recently exited FCC Chair Julius Genachowski had expressed concerns over this new rule, but he’s gone back to the private sector. Luckily, his apparent successor also wants consumers to be able to do what they want with the devices they buy. [More]
Chrysler Finally Agrees To Recall 2.7 Million Jeeps, Insists Vehicles Are Safe
By 6.18.13
Earlier this month Chrysler responded with a big fat “No” to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s request that it formally recall 2.7 million older model Jeeps, over regulator concerns that the vehicles could catch on fire when hit from behind. Today the car company announced that it’s relenting, and will in fact, institute the recall the NHTSA wanted. [More]
June Food And Drug Recall Roundup – Sulfites, Plastic Fragments, And Salmonella
By 6.18.13
Our monthly Recall Roundups have grown so expansive that we’ve had to separate them into two separate roundups: one for consumer goods, and one for consumables. In this edition of the Food and Drug roundup, dangers lurk everywhere, from coconut candy bars to sugary cereals. [More]
Flannel-Wearing Teen Claims TSA Told Her “You’re Only 15, Cover Yourself”
By 6.18.13
While I’m not totally down with what the kids are wearing these days, I do remember quite well being asked if I honestly thought I was “going out of the house dressed like that.” And from the photo one dad has posted of what his daughter was wearing when she says a Transportation Security Administration agent humiliated her and told her “You’re only 15, cover yourself,” a flannel shirt and stretch pants would likely never have elicited that parental reaction. [More]
