Turmeric is a spice that’s essential in South Asian Cuisine, and sometimes also used to make foods look more yellow or orange. If you’ve bought a jar of turmeric recently, heads up: bulk turmeric from distributor Gel Spice, Inc. that was repackaged under multiple brand names, including bottles sold at national retailers like Big Lots and Target, has been recalled because it may be contaminated with lead. [More]
Government Policy
Feds Accuse 1-800 Contacts Of Badvertising
By 8.8.16
The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit today against 1-800 Contacts, accusing the online lens retailer of making agreements with more than a dozen competitors to not compete with each other for online search ads, resulting in lens buyers paying higher prices. [More]
AT&T Penalized $7.75 Million For Allowing Scammers To Charge Bogus “Directory Assistance Service” Fees
By 8.8.16
Nearly two years after AT&T was hit with a $105 million settlement over bill-cramming — the practice of letting third parties place questionable or false charges on customers’ phone bills — the Federal Communications Commission says the company has agreed to pay another $7.5 million to close the book on additional cramming accusations involving a bogus directory assistance service. [More]
FTC Sends Warning Letters To Online Marketers Peddling Ineffective Zika-Prevention Products
By 8.5.16
It’s been a busy week for authorities going after sham products: a day after the New York Attorney General’s office announced that six companies had agreed to stop selling products that are ineffective at warding off Zika-carrying mosquitoes, the Federal Trade Commission is reminding a slew of businesses marketing Zika-prevention products that it’s illegal to make health claims that simply aren’t true. [More]
Probably Avoid These Skin Care Products If You Don’t Want Mercury Poisoning
By 8.5.16
Mercury poisoning doesn’t sound fun, but it also doesn’t necessarily sound like something the average consumer runs into a lot in modern cosmetic aisles, what with federal regulations banning dangerous levels of the stuff. However, there are a slew of illegal skin care products for sale out there that contain mercury, and the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t want folks slathering them on their bodies. [More]
Crackdown Coming For Stealth Social Media Ads
By 8.5.16
We’ve seen Warner Bros. get in trouble for paying YouTubers to hype a new game without properly revealing they were paid, and we’ve seen Lord & Taylor caught paying Instagram influencers to shill for a new dress. Yet our social media feeds are still overflowing with celebrities and semi-celebrities pushing products without disclosing that they are receiving a paycheck to do so. [More]
FCC Adjusts, But Still Can’t Implement, Caps On Sky-High Rates Prisoners Pay To Call Home
By 8.4.16
We’re used to saying that someone is a “captive audience” for a major monopoly, but for the millions of Americans living behind bars, that phrase becomes painfully literal. Phone companies that connect inmates to their loved ones on the outside have for years taken advantage of their position with sky-high rates and fees, but the FCC is once again stepping in to help mitigate the problem. [More]
Class-Action Suit Accuses Honda Of Selling Acura Vehicles With Battery-Draining Defect
By 8.4.16
Connecting your phone to your vehicle via a Bluetooth link can make driving safer. But for thousands of Acura owners, they claim this convenience — a HandsFreeLink Bluetooth phone-pairing system — contains a defect, that results in dead car batteries and the need for frequent battery replacements. Today, those owners came together to file a class-action lawsuit against Honda, the maker of the vehicles. [More]
Dog Food Company Accused Of Falsely Advertising It Could Extend Dog’s Life By 30%
By 8.4.16
As the proud pop of a pup, of course I want him to live as long and happy a life as possible. At the same time, I’d hope that any product claiming to be able to extend my dog’s years has the evidence to back up this boast. [More]
Ford Recalls 830K Vehicles Because Doors Should Stay Shut When Closed
By 8.4.16
For the better part of two years Ford has been the center of federal safety investigations related to certain sedan doors that just wouldn’t stay shut. This week, the carmaker announced it would recall 830,000 vehicles to replace side door latches in certain states. [More]
TSA Reminding Passengers Yet Again That “Batarangs” Are Best Left In Your Checked Bags
By 8.3.16
Listen, the Transportation Safety Administration gets it: people like Batman, and some of those people own “batarangs,” boomerang weapons shaped like bats. But please, for the love of speedy airport security lines, the TSA is asking travelers to stop trying to pack the sharp, pointy things in their carry-on bags. [More]
103 Lawmakers Come Out In Favor Of Revoking Banks’ “Get Out Of Jail Free” Card
By 8.3.16
In May, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed new rules for financial services companies that could severely limit their ability to sidestep legal liability by forcing wronged customers out of the courtroom and into the byzantine, unfair world of binding arbitration. Some in Congress recently tacked on some legislative pork to an appropriations bill that would prevent the CFPB from moving forward on these rules, but today more than 100 federal lawmakers came out to commend the Bureau for its efforts. [More]
From Credit Cards To Mail-Order Steaks: 87 Companies That Are Taking Away Your Right To Sue
By 8.3.16
A recent study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that even though most Americans have at least one financial product — checking accounts, credit cards, loans, investment accounts — that use forced arbitration clauses to strip the account-holder of their right to sue, very few of us know about these restrictions or understand what they mean. And as the list we’ve compiled shows, it’s not just banks that are playing the “get out of jail free” card with arbitration. [More]
Comcast: Consumers Are Harmed If We Don’t Get To Charge Extra For Privacy
By 8.3.16
Internet service providers like making money. They don’t like regulations that prevent them from any avenues that could make them money. And they will argue basically anything they can think of to help prevent those regulations from happening. Like, for example, suggesting that you, the consumer, will actively suffer harm if Comcast and others aren’t allowed to charge you extra for keeping your data to yourself. [More]
FCC Wants To Fine Pair Of Idiots $25K Each For Faking Caller ID Of Prison, School To Harass Ex-Wife
By 8.2.16
Spoofing — the practice of sending out fake caller ID information to disguise the caller’s real identity — is legal, so long as it’s not done to deceive or harm anyone. Reporters, victims of domestic abuse, human rights organizations, all legally use spoofing to protect their locations or sources. This sort of trickery is definitely not allowed when it’s deployed just to make harassing phone calls to your ex. [More]
Starbucks Recalling 2.5M Stainless Steel Straws Because They’re Cutting Kids’ Mouths
By 8.2.16
While it might be refreshing to drink a refreshing cold beverage delivered by an equally cold metal straw, it’s much less enjoyable when that straw becomes a stabby thing that can cut your mouth. [More]
Equipment To Spy On Citizens Is A Surprisingly Popular Export
By 8.2.16
It doesn’t require any super-special equipment to spy on one’s own citizens: the items needed to do so are widely available and pretty affordable compared to other law enforcement and military gear. Yes, spy equipment is a popular U.S. export, and governments out to keep very, very close tabs on their residents are the customers. [More]
Guidelines Intend To Protect Homeowners As Foreclosure Relief Programs Expire
By 8.2.16
Nearly a decade after the housing bubble burst and the government created programs to provide relief for homeowners facing foreclosure, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is working to ensure that consumers continue to receive needed assistance tailored to changing home retention needs. Today, the Bureau has released new a new outline to guide the creation of new solutions for foreclosure relief. [More]
