The Obama administration is laying out a voluntary list of guidelines for Internet companies in an attempt to protect consumers’ privacy while they’re cruising around the Web. But before you get too excited, this online privacy bill of rights is just a polite suggestion, and not an actual piece of legislation. [More]
Government Policy
States Making A Profit Selling Machetes, Knives, Fuzzy Handcuffs Confiscated By TSA
By 2.22.12
For all the stories we hear about people who inadvertently slip a knife or gun through airport security, there are countless other travelers whose contraband is confiscated after it shows up on the security scan. But what exactly happens to all that fun stuff? [More]
CFPB To Take A Closer Look At Overdraft Fees
By 2.22.12
Expensive and complicated overdraft fees are pretty high on, if not at the top of, many bank customers’ complaint lists. So it only makes sense that the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has decided to look into whether or not these fees are a fair way to keep people from overdrafting, or just a profit center for banks. [More]
FDA Green Lights Imports Of Cancer Drugs To Ease Shortages
By 2.22.12
Of all the agonies that confront cancer patients, an unnecessary shortage of drugs they need must be among the more frustrating. The Food and Drug Administration is showing some compassion for the sick by easing import rules for two crucial cancer drugs in order to bulk up supply. [More]
Court Halts Intimidating Debt Collector Calls From People Posing As Cops
By 2.21.12
The Federal Trade Commission announced today that a U.S. district court has stopped an operation that allegedly collected millions of dollars in payday loan debts that consumers did not actually owe. [More]
Cordray: Credit Bureaus Are A "Murky Unknown" To Consumers
By 2.21.12
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it was drafting new regulations that would allow for the oversight of the largest credit reporting bureaus and debt collection companies. The reason, explains CFPB head Richard Cordray is that many consumers are in the dark about these businesses and feel somewhat helpless when it comes to dealing with them. [More]
FDA Will Give Another Look To Weight Loss Pill Said To Cause Birth Defects, Heart Problems
By 2.20.12
Qnexa, a diet pill that some researchers say increases risks of birth defects and heart problems, is getting a second shot at making its way to the market. After rejecting the drug in 2010, the Food and Drug Administration will review Qnexa again Wednesday. [More]
FDA Warns About Potential For Chipped Teeth, Eye Injuries From Crest/Arm & Hammer Spinbrush
By 2.17.12
If you ever looked at an Arm & Hammer Spinbrush (formerly the Crest Spinbrush) and thought “a toothbrush with all those moving parts could potentially wreak havoc if something goes wrong,” the folks at the Food & Drug Administration have confirmed your concerns. [More]
CFPB Seeking To Get Credit Bureaus & Debt Collectors Under Its Watch
By 2.16.12
Now that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finally has a director, Richard Cordray, it’s making some big moves to bring in debt collectors and credit bureaus under the umbrella of industries they want to supervise. [More]
Peanut Butter Disguise Can't Sneak Pot Past TSA
By 2.16.12
Many things go great with peanut butter, but marijuana isn’t one of them, at least when you’re going through airport security. A passenger allegedly tried to sneak marijuana aboard a flight from Oakland by packing it inside a peanut butter jar, but Transportation Security Administration workers spotted the ruse with an X-ray machine. The man was cited for drug possession and missed his flight. He said the pot was for medical use and he hid it because he didn’t have a medical marijuana card. [More]
Citigroup Settles Mortgage Fraud Charges For $158 Million, Admits Fault
By 2.16.12
The U.S. Department of Justice nailed Citigroup on mortgage fraud charges, getting the bank to agree to pay out a $158 million settlement while admitting it tricked a federal insurance program into backing bad loans. When borrowers defaulted, taxpayers ended up footing the bill. [More]
Beastie Boy Mike D Fights AT&T For Shareholders' Right To Vote On Net Neutrality
By 2.15.12
Sorry, but there was just no way we’d be able to refrain from referencing Beastie Boys songs/lyrics in this one: Michael Diamond, aka Mike D, has teamed up with two other investors, including his wife, to sabotage AT&T’s attempt to not allow shareholders to vote on resolutions supporting wireless net-neutrality in yearly shareholder votes. [More]
California Restaurant Settles Suit Over Racial Slurs Written On Receipts
By 2.15.12
A California man sued a restaurant in federal court, accusing it of discrimination for leaving racial epithets on his receipts. Weeks before the case was set to be heard by a jury, the restaurant and the customer reached a settlement with undisclosed terms. [More]
FCC To Make Robocalls Opt-In Only, But Human Telemarketers May Still Annoy You
By 2.15.12
In spite of the fact that more than 200 million numbers have been placed on the National Do Not Call Registry, robocalling telemarketers are continuing to either ignore the list or find ways around its restrictions. But the FCC is set to unveil new rules that would shrink the size of those loopholes. [More]
Got Lipstick? There's Probably Some Lead In It
By 2.15.12
Back in 2007, the Food & Drug Administration did a small sample test on 33 lipsticks and found varying levels of lead in two-thirds of them. As a follow-up, the FDA requested testing of a significantly larger sampling and has now announced that it found at least trace amounts of lead in 400 varieties. [More]
Judge Really Thought No One Would Catch Her Dismissing Her Own Parking Tickets
By 2.14.12
Silly judge, the law is for everyone, not just the plebeians you rule over on a daily basis. A Pennslyvania Magisterial District judge was totally busted for dismissing her own parking violations, which she racked up with her BMW. [More]
Lawmakers Call For End To NFL Blackouts; Jacksonville Jaguars Fan Rejoices
By 2.14.12
For fans of football teams with poor stadium attendance, Sunday afternoons can be a dreary experience of having to watch Cheers re-runs while occasionally checking the score of the game you’d be watching if it weren’t blacked out. But if a quintet of senators get their way, these black outs would come to an end. [More]
Senator: Claims Of TSA Harassment Demonstrate The Need For Passenger Advocates
By 2.14.12
Following claims by female passengers that they have been harassed while going through airport security checkpoints, Senator Chuck Schumer from New York has renewed his call for the Transportation Security Administration to place passenger advocates in every airport terminal. [More]
