A 1988 law continues to be the “buffering” in Netflix’s success stream. The Video Privacy Protection Act, which forbids movie rental companies from sharing customers’ rental history, is not only stopping Netflix from integrating movie-streaming with Facebook in the U.S., but has cost the company $9 million to settle a class-action lawsuit. [More]
Government Policy
White House Tweaks Rule Requiring Employers To Cover Birth Control
By 2.10.12
Late last month, the Obama administration angered some people when it announced that all employers — regardless of their stance on birth control — would need to provide insurance that covers female preventative care. Today, the President said his people had come up with a compromise that he believes will provide birth control while allowing businesses to not be directly responsible for providing it. [More]
Sorry You Need To Get Screened Before Your Flight, But The TSA Has No Females Working Right Now
By 2.10.12
A woman was trying to fly home to Colorado when she says she wasn’t allowed to board her flight because of her gender. Well, not just that she was a woman, but because there were no female Transportation Security Administration agents on duty when she was going through security. [More]
$25 Billion Mortgage Settlement Is Just The First Step Toward Cleaning Up Mortgage Mess
By 2.9.12
There are a lot of good things about today’s $25 billion settlement between the five largest mortgage servicers, the Dept. of Justice and the attorneys general of 49 states. But in spite of the huge price tag on the deal — which could grow even larger if other lenders sign on — it’s only the beginning of cleaning up the aftermath of housing market collapse. [More]
Here Is What The New Health Insurance Labels Will Look Like
By 2.9.12
Back in August, we told you about how the Dept. of Health & Human Services was finalizing a template for new health insurance labels that would attempt to make it clear what a potential customer was buying and what sort of coverage they would receive. [More]
DOJ, 49 States Reach $25 Billion Settlement With Five Largest Lenders Over Robosigning
By 2.9.12
More than a year after several of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders temporarily suspended foreclosures after it was revealed that they had been using untrained, unqualified “robosigners” to process foreclosure documents, the U.S. Justice Dept. and the attorneys general of 49 states have announced a $25 billion settlement that will result in mortgage reductions to some homeowners. [More]
Keep Your Shoes On, Please: TSA Rolling Out Speedy Security Pre-Screening Program
By 2.8.12
Maybe you’ll be taking your shoes off, but instead of placing them in a bin on a conveyor belt, you’ll be sitting around at home on the computer before heading to the airport. A test program the Transportation Security Administration has been working on called the PreCheck, which will allow passengers to speed through security is now expanding to 28 more airports. [More]
Lawmakers Announce Legislation To Set Limits On Arsenic & Lead In Fruit Juice
By 2.8.12
In the wake of a recent Consumer Reports investigation that found high levels of arsenic and lead in a number of fruit juices, Congressman Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro today announced the “Arsenic Prevention and Protection from Lead Exposure in Juice (APPLE Juice) Act of 2012,” which would require the Food and Drug Administration to set standards for arsenic and lead in fruit juices. [More]
Almost All States Sign On To Massive Mortgage Settlement
By 2.7.12
Last night was the deadline for the attorneys general of each state to sign onto a massive settlement with the nation’s five largest mortgage lenders, and more than 40 of the states opted to join in the pot-sharing. [More]
Judge Says Bank Of America Can Boot The $16 House Guy From McMansion
By 2.6.12
UPDATE 4:40 p.m.: Kenneth says he’s going to leave his $16 house without a fight, telling the Dallas Observer’s “Unfair Park” blog: “If they are the true owners, then you’re supposed to give it up anyway.” [More]
Arizona Tries To Shake Amazon Down For $53 Million In Sales Tax
By 2.6.12
The burden of state sales tax continues to plague Amazon. Groups of states hold Amazon to different standards when it comes to collecting the tax. While some disagreements end amicably — such as the company’s January deal with Indiana that it will have to start collecting state sales tax in 2014 — other states are a bit more confrontational. [More]
Lawsuit: You Can't Charge Me With Downloading Porn Because You Can't Copyright Obscenity
By 2.3.12
For the first several years of the entertainment industry’s crackdown on online piracy, American pornographers did very little to go after the people who filled up gigabyte after gigabyte of hard drive space with bittorrented x-rated material. But in recent years, realizing there is money to be made by merely threatening “John Doe” defendants with making their names and downloading habits public, that has begun to change. But one California woman is fighting back, claiming that the porn she didn’t violate copyright laws because the porn she’s accused of downloading isn’t copyrightable. [More]
New Legislation Would Pad Health Insurance Coffers While Screwing Over Consumers
By 2.3.12
As part of the Affordable Care Act, health insurers must spend at least 80% of the money they earn from premiums on actually providing health care, with the remaining cash used to cover all administrative, advertising and payroll costs. Those insurers with plans that don’t follow this ratio are soon supposed to start giving the extra money back in refunds and discounts. But new legislation introduced in the Senate this week could jeopardize this, while giving insurance companies even more money to stick in their dog pillows. [More]
Vermont Inmates Ham It Up By Sneaking A Pig Into State Police Crest Decal
By 2.3.12
When you’ve got inmates of a correctional facility manufacturing decals for state police cruisers, hilarity is practically guaranteed to ensue. Vermont prisoners got away with quite a prank, sneaking a pig into the state police crest decals that adorned two doors of 30 cruisers for the last year. [More]
Former Intern Sues Magazine Publisher, Claiming She Was An Unpaid Full-Timer
By 2.3.12
Although students gain work experience and connections from internships, the professional world tends to get the better end of the deal, exploiting talented interns for free or low-pay labor. Federal law bars companies from treating interns as they would employees, but overworked students don’t often feel as though they’re in much of a position to blow the whistle if their mentors cross the line. [More]
Settlement Says It's Not Okay To Use Models In Short Skirts To Recruit Bone Marrow Donors
By 2.2.12
Sex sells, which is why models in skimpy outfits sell consumers on the merits of everything from cars to web domain companies. But a Massachusetts settlement says skin gimmicks and free gifts shouldn’t be used to recruit potential bone marrow donors. [More]
HP Recalls 1 Million Fax Machines Because "Fire" Is Not A Paper-Friendly Feature
By 2.2.12
Hewlett-Packard has announced a recall of more than one million HP Fax 1040 and 1050 fax machines in North America because the machines have faulty internal electric components that can fail, causing the machines to overheat and possibly catch fire. [More]
Thieving TSA Agent Serves As Reminder To Not Carry $5K In Your Coat
By 2.2.12
See, this is why smugglers duct tape their contraband to their chest and groin — so that a rogue TSA agent doesn’t simply swipe it from their coat as it goes through the security checkpoint. [More]
