When a generic version of a drug comes on the market, the holder of the brand-name drug’s patent stands to see a steep drop in sales as many customers switch to the lower-price option. Thus, some companies will go to great lengths to delay the release of generics. One such method, dubbed “pay-for-delay,” involves the patent-holder suing manufacturers of generics and then settling for millions of dollars with the agreement that the generic suppliers will hold off on releasing their product. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Trade Commission has the right to challenge these sorts of deals. [More]
Government Policy
Apple Says It Received 5,000 Data Requests From Law Enforcement, Doesn’t Say How Many It Fulfilled
By 6.17.13
With many people still wondering about the extent to which the National Security Agency and other authorities were peeping in to consumers’ phone and Internet activities, some of the larger firms caught up in the scandal are making attempts at being transparent about what they did and didn’t hand over to the government. However, some are being more transparent than others. [More]
Not Everyone Is Disappointed With De Beers Class Action Checks
By 6.12.13
Yesterday, we shared the news that people have started to receive their settlement checks from the class action lawsuit that accused diamond merchants De Beers of price-fixing. (Gasp!) The first reader we heard from, Sean, was upset that he only received $48 back on a $3,000 claim, or about 1.6%. Other readers are happier with their settlements…but, to point out the obvious here, people with larger settlements are a lot happier, and people who spent more on shiny rocks in the first place received larger checks. [More]
Sales Of Orwell’s Dystopian ‘1984’ Have Spiked With News Of NSA Surveillance
By 6.12.13
There’s a hot book on the scene — have you heard about it? It’s this wacky vision of a dystopian future where the government is always listening. And oh yeah, it’s George Orwell’s 1984, which was published 64 years ago. Sales of the futuristic cautionary tale to society have been hopping in the wake of the National Security Agency surveillance scandal, with one edition jumping from No. 73797 to No. 125 on the Amazon.com best-seller list. [More]
Class-Action Suit Filed Over NSA Phone-Snooping
By 6.11.13
Days after it was revealed that the National Security Agency had quietly been granted access to phone records of Verizon customers, a couple in Philadelphia has filed against everyone involved, from the NSA to Verizon to Attorney General Eric Holder to President Obama. [More]
CFPB: Bank Customers Leaking $225 In Overdraft Fees Per Year On Average
By 6.11.13
Why is your bank account leaking so much money ever year? Where does it all go? Checking account customers are bleeding funds to the tune of about $225 per year on average, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says in a new study. That means that despite regulations aimed at lessening the effects of overdraft fees and clear up the whole process. [More]
TSA Agents Don’t Care If You’re Chewbacca Himself — That Lightsaber Is Suspicious
By 6.10.13
For any fan of Star Wars, it would be hard, nay — impossible — to contain the squeals of glee one’s mouth would emit upon meeting any of the franchise’s most important cast members (Jar Jar Binks, we are definitely not talking to you). But it seems the Transportation Security Administration either don’t know the man who filled Chewbacca’s furry shoes or aren’t willing to give Peter Mayhew special treatment. He was stopped while boarding a flight on account of his cane, which, of course, is shaped like a lightsaber. [More]
Costco Offering Free Hepatitis Vaccines To Customers Who Purchased Recalled Berries
By 6.7.13
We told you earlier this week about a hepatitis A outbreak in several states that authorities had linked to a berry mix sold at Costco stores. Now comes news that the warehouse chain is offering free vaccines to those who have eaten the recalled berries. [More]
Court Gives Females Of All Ages Permission To Buy Generic Emergency Contraception
By 6.6.13
There’s been a bit of a back and forth between the courts and the White House recently over who can buy what kinds of emergency contraception, or the morning after pill. The Food and Drug Administration had approved the one-pill brand name Plan B for any women 15 or older, which didn’t apply to other forms. But now a federal appeals court says girls of any age can buy two-step generic versions without prescriptions while the federal government appeals a judge’s ruling that any females can get Plan B, regardless of age. [More]
Why Should I Care If The Beef I Buy Has Been Mechanically Tenderized?
By 6.6.13
Whether you actually read the labels on food or not, they exist to inform consumers of exactly what they’re about to eat. But that isn’t much help if you don’t understand why something is labeled a certain way in the first place. For example, the United States Department of Agriculture is planning on requiring beef that’s been mechanically tenderized to be labeled as such. Okay, great! But why should you care either way? [More]
White House Official Defends Collection Of Verizon Customer Data As Critical To Fighting Terrorism
By 6.6.13
Following reports that the National Security Agency has been using a secret court order to collect phone records for millions of Verizon customers, the Obama administration has had to come out in defense of the controversial practice, while the Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee says this practice has actually been going on since 2006. [More]
Why Non-Dairy Creamer Has Dairy In It
By 6.4.13 — Updated: 5.16.16
“I spotted this confused creamer at breakfast,” Jake wrote in an e-mail to Consumerist. “Glad I’m not lactose intolerant.” While it’s labeled “non-dairy,” it also has a milk allergy warning. How does that work? [More]
Congress To Once Again Consider Legislation That Would Ban BPA From Food Packaging
By 6.4.13
Bisphenol-A (better known as BPA) is a chemical used in all manner of food packaging, in spite of numerous studies linking BPA to everything from increased risks of certain cancers to diabetes, reproductive abnormalities, heart disease, and maybe even childhood obesity. Since the FDA has decided there still wasn’t enough science to ban BPA from food packaging (though it later hedged on this ruling and banned BPA from baby bottles), lawmakers in Congress are having another go at a legislative effort to limit the use of BPA. [More]
Chrysler Says No To NHTSA Request To Recall 2.7 Million Jeeps
By 6.4.13
If you’ve read enough recall notices, you’ve probably seen that most of them say something like “Company X, in coordination with Regulator Y, have issued a voluntary recall of blah blah blah,” but sometimes regulators and manufacturers don’t agree about whether a product merits being recalled. Case in point: Chrysler’s decision to say no to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall 2.7 million vehicles over fuel tank concerns. [More]
Hope You Don’t Get Lyme Disease Because There’s A Short Supply Of Drug Used To Treat It
By 6.4.13
It’s the outdoors season, when many of you go out into the wilderness and do various things with trees and wildlife and whatnot. Some of you will be feasted upon by deer ticks and some of those unlucky souls will contract Lyme Disease. It’s never a good year for that to happen, but this summer is particularly bad, as supply for a drug used in the treatment of Lyme Disease is running low. [More]
GM May Recall Additional 400,000 Vehicles Over Airbag Concerns
By 6.4.13
In the last year, General Motors has issued two small airbag-related recalls affecting a total of around 7,000 vehicles. But the folks at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration think that recall may need to be expanded a little bit… by around 400,0000. [More]
Ford Recalls 465,000 Model Year 2013 Vehicles Over Fuel Leak, Fire Concerns
By 6.3.13
Ford has issued a recall of nearly half a million model year 2013 vehicles over concerns about possible fuel tank leaks that could result in a fire. [More]
Fred Meyer Recalls Stuffed Chicken That Plays Excessively Loud Chicken Dance Song
By 6.3.13
Did you know that there’s an upper volume limit for how loud a noise-making toy can be before it’s considered a hazard to your hearing? It’s true. Despite what some toddlers’ parents might think, most toys that beep, talk, or play music don’t come close to the standard. One Easter toy sold at Fred Meyer stores does, though, and the chain has issued a recall to save everyone’s ears. [More]
