Nearly two months after a preliminary audit found the Food and Drug Administration’s food recall process lacked effective and efficient processes to ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply, one lawmaker is calling for an overhaul of the agency’s systems. [More]
Government Policy
Facebook Might Owe The IRS As Much As $5 Billion In Back Taxes
By 8.1.16
You know what giant corporations really hate to do? Spend lots of their revenue on taxes. And you know what they have to do anyway? Exactly that. But the IRS is saying that Facebook may not have done enough of it, in past years, and may be on the hook for a big fat chunk of cash overdue to the U.S. government. [More]
Florida Officials Investigating 4 Cases Of Zika That May Have Been Transmitted By Mosquitoes
By 7.29.16
For the first time in the U.S., health officials believe local mosquitoes may have transmitted the Zika virus to humans. [More]
Cable, Wireless Industries Try Yet Again To Take Net Neutrality To Court
By 7.29.16
We have had had net neutrality as the law of the land for over a year now. Lawsuits immediately followed its implementation, of course, but the appeals court took the FCC’s side. So if you’re industry and you’re still ticked off, what’s left? Ask for a do-over… if you can get one. [More]
FCC Wants AT&T To Pay $170,000 For Overcharging Florida Schools
By 7.28.16
Commercial-grade phone service is expensive, so there’s a program that helps schools afford it. There are rules about what phone companies, like AT&T, can and can’t charge the schools that apply through that program. And the FCC now says that not only did AT&T not follow those rules, but also it charged two school districts the highest rates in the entire state to keep their phone lines connected. [More]
New Rules Would Require Debt Collectors Have Proof You Actually Owe Money
By 7.28.16
One of the most common complaints about debt collectors is that they harass people over debts that are either no longer owed, or weren’t owed in the first place. Federal regulators are now proposing rules that — among other protections — would cut down on these annoying, bogus collections actions by requiring that debt collectors have some sort of evidence that the person they are calling actually owes money. [More]
Hoverboard Owners Report Issues Getting Refunds After Recall
By 7.27.16
Nearly a month after the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled half a million (non-hovering) hoverboards over safety concerns, urging owners to stop using the self-balancing scooters and seek refunds, some customers say they’re having a difficult time doing so. [More]
Meijer Recalls Fresh Salads, Sandwiches Over Possible Salmonella Contamination
By 7.27.16
If you recently stocked your fridge with fresh salads and sandwiches from Meijer in hopes of grabbing an easy lunch, you might want to find other plans — unless you want a side of Salmonella. [More]
Anyone Can Make & Market A Dietary Supplement, Including Consumer Reports
By 7.27.16
When you see ads for dietary supplements, there are often scientists in lab coats looking at beakers and flasks, saying science-y things. In the real world, just about anyone with a credit card can make and market a supplement, even one that contains potentially unhealthy ingredients. Just ask our colleagues at Consumer Reports, the creators of the new (totally fake) weight-loss supplement Thinitol. [More]
Petition Calls On FCC To Rethink Ruling Giving All Govt. Contractors Green Light To Make Robocalls
By 7.26.16
Earlier this month, the FCC released a controversial ruling, concluding that the law allowed the federal government — and all contractors working for the government — to place prerecorded/auto-dialed robocalls to consumers, so long as the calls are made for official government business. Today, a number of consumer advocates have officially petitioned the FCC to rethink its position and close this loophole. [More]
AT&T CEO Says He Will Head Up Anti-Robocall “Strike Force”
By 7.25.16
In response to FCC Chair Tom Wheeler’s call for all major phone companies to finally put free robocall-blocking tools in the hands of their customers, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson — who recently incorrectly blamed the FCC for his company’s failure to address this issue — says he is going to lead an industry “Strike Force” to combat robocalls. [More]
You Can Take Jeremy Bentham’s Mummified Head Through Airport Security, But Please Don’t
By 7.25.16
The TSA runs a customer service line on Twitter, at @AskTSA. Most of the questions and complaints it handles are of exactly the sort you’d expect: can I bring an empty water bottle through security? What’s going on with PreCheck? This line at this airport too long!, and so forth. But its staff is dedicated, and will honestly and to the best of its ability answer any question you politely ask of it. Including, for example, the handling of certain… artifacts. [More]
New Rules Aim To Regulate Online College Programs
By 7.25.16
Colleges offering distance education, such as online courses, must receive authorization from each state where it has students in order to receive federal financial aid, according to recently released rules that aim to better regulate the online education industry and ensure students understand what protections they have when attending a college in another state. [More]
Cable Lobbying Group’s Set-Top Box Plan: App That Doesn’t Do The Things You Want
By 7.25.16
It’s been nearly six months since the FCC first proposed doing something about the cable set-top box market. Since then, the White House and Congress have both had their say about it, while all along the cable industry has been lobbying and complaining incessantly. But behind all that, the FCC and the industry are at least talking to each other to try to hash out what the future could look like. Unfortunately, if industry gets its way, that future could leave a lot of consumers’ favorite features behind their TV providers’ big fat “pay me” gates. [More]
FCC To Phone Companies: Offer Free Robocall Blockers To Customers
By 7.22.16
Even though the Federal Communications Commission has repeatedly said that wireless and landline phone providers are allowed to offer robocall-blocking services to their customers, some carriers have continued to incorrectly insist — and provide misinformation to consumers — that they simply don’t have the authority to deploy this technology. In an effort to make things clear once and for all, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler has sent letters to these companies that there are no regulatory roadblocks stopping them from helping their customers stop annoying — often illegal — automated and prerecorded robocalls. [More]
New Guidelines Aim To Improve Customer Service, Enhance Protections On Federal Student Loans
By 7.20.16
The fact that two-thirds of college-bound students who take out loans to finance their higher education have little to no idea what they’re agreeing to, doesn’t mean these borrowers shouldn’t receive adequate protection from unscrupulous loan servicing companies. New guidelines from a pair of federal agencies are aimed at ensuring student loan borrowers get the service and protection they deserve. [More]
United Airlines Partners With TSA On Automated Security Lines To Cut Wait Times By 30%
By 7.20.16
United Airlines is joining Delta and America on the list of carriers teaming up with the Transportation Security Administration to revamp some hubs with automated security processes in order to alleviate congestion at security checkpoints. [More]
Company Recalls Children’s Water Bottles Sold At L.L. Bean For Containing High Levels Of Lead
By 7.20.16
A company called GSI Outdoors is recalling about 6,700 kids’ insulated water bottles sold exclusively at L.L. Bean stores. Why? Because children shouldn’t be handling toxic lead. [More]
