In response to concerns arising from the recent launch of Apple Music, U.S. Senator Al Franken called on both the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the possibility that the tech giant may be creating an anticompetitive environment in the streaming music market. [More]
INVESTIGATIONS
Senator Calls For Federal Investigation Into Airline Prices, Data Withholding
By 7.20.15
When looking to book a flight, many consumers find it easier to peruse third-party comparison sites such as Kayak, Orbitz or Expedia where airfare can be easily compared among different airlines. While airlines have had their share of issues with sites that often lead to some fares disappearing, one legislator is calling for a federal investigation over allegations that some carriers completely withhold information from such travel sites in an attempt to block passengers from finding the best price possible. [More]
Another Report Finds NHTSA Failed To Hold Automakers Responsible For Defects, Other Issues
By 6.22.15
The hits keep on coming for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Less than a month after internal reports determined the agency failed to adequately address the General Motors ignition switch defect that has been linked to more than 100 deaths, an audit from the U.S. Department of Transportation identified a plethora of shortcomings within the auto-safety regulator’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) that prevent it from properly protecting consumers from vehicle defects. [More]
Senator Calls For Investigation Into Alleged Anti-Competitive Airline Behavior
By 6.19.15
American Airlines and US Airways, Southwest Airlines and AirTran, Continental and United. These are just a few of the major mergers to hit the airline industry in the last several decades. While airlines contend that such combinations have created more streamlined processes for customers, some legislators are concerned that a shrinking airline industry has perpetrated potential anti-competitive behavior, leading to a request for a federal investigation. [More]
Reports Show NHTSA Failed At First To Properly Investigate GM’s Ignition Switch Defect
By 6.5.15
Recently released internal reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that for nearly a decade the agency did little to adequately address concerns regarding the deadly General Motors ignition switch defect. [More]
Takata Confirms It Will Replace About 400,000 Previously “Fixed” Airbags
By 6.4.15
Earlier this week Japanese auto part maker Takata announced it may have to call back some of the millions of airbags already replaced because they may still have a tendency to shoot shrapnel upon deployment. Today, the company released an estimated number of re-recalled airbags, to the tune of 400,000. [More]
AMC, Regal Theater Chains Targeted In Antitrust Inquiry
By 6.2.15
Exclusive agreements between large movie theater chains and film studios that are effectively used to prevent independent rivals from showing certain films have caught the watchful eye of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, with investigators now requesting information about the increasingly popular tactic from two of the nation’s largest cinema operators, AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment. [More]
Takata Plans To Stop Using Ammonium Nitrate, Phase Out Certain Airbag Inflators
By 6.1.15
A day before representatives from Japanese auto parts maker Takata are set to appear in front of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee to discuss the more than 34 million defective airbags linked to six deaths and more than a hundred injuries, the company announced it would stop using an often volatile chemical in its safety devices moving forward and call back some airbags replaced during earlier recalls. [More]
Could Takata’s Replacement Airbags Be Just As Dangerous?
By 5.27.15
Generally when consumers take their vehicles to a dealer for a recall remedy, they leave with the peace of mind that the potential safety issue has been fixed. That may not end up being the case for more than 34 million recently recalled vehicles equipped with Takata airbags, as the parts manufacturer, automakers and federal regulators struggle to determine why the safety devices have the tendency to spew pieces of shrapnel upon deployment. [More]
Senator Calls For Investigation Into Three For-Profit College Chains, Restrictions On Future Campus Sales
By 5.19.15
The struggle to protect students from potentially harmful for-profit college chains continued today as Illinois Senator Dick Durbin urged the Department of Education to investigate the business practices of three of the country’s largest propriety education companies – ITT Educational Services, Career Education Corporation, and Education Management Corporation. [More]
Legislator Demands Department Of Education Investigate For-Profit Chain ITT Technical Institute
By 5.15.15
Following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision earlier this week to file fraud charges against current and former executives with ITT Education Services – the operator of for-profit college chain ITT Technical Institute – for their part in concealing problems with company-run student loan programs, one legislator is calling on the Department of Education to further investigate the company. [More]
Toyota, Nissan Add 6.5 Million Vehicles To Takata Airbag Recall; Honda Expected To Follow Suit
By 5.13.15
Just when you think carmakers have recalled the last of the vehicles equipped with Takata airbags that could spew shrapnel when deployed, more cars are added to that list. Today, Toyota and Nissan expanded their already massive recalls to include an additional 6.5 million vehicles, while Honda has plans to do the same. [More]
FDA Investigators: Blue Bell Found Bacteria Issues At Production Facilities Two Years Ago, Failed To Act
By 5.8.15
A few weeks ago the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that the current Blue Bell listeria outbreak that has been linked to three deaths and at least 10 illness in four states to illnesses that occurred at least five years ago. Now, federal investigators claim the Texas-based ice cream maker knew of bacteria problems at its plants nearly two years ago, but failed to do anything about it. [More]
Two Major For-Profit Education Chains Announce Closures, Sales Of Dozens Of Campuses
By 5.7.15
The for-profit education sector is getting a bit smaller after two of the largest proprietary college chains – Career Education Corporation and Education Management Corporation – revealed plans to close or sell dozens of campuses across the country. [More]
NHTSA Investigating Chrysler Recall Remedy After Reports That Sun Visors Continue To Catch Fire
By 5.6.15
When a consumer takes their recalled vehicle to a dealer for repairs, they probably assume they won’t have the same issue with the car in the future. But that apparently hasn’t been the case when it comes to several Jeep and Dodge SUVs recalled last summer, and now the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is probing the effectiveness of the recall remedy. [More]
Ford Expands Door Latch Recall To Include 156,000 Additional Fiesta, Fusion & Lincoln Vehicles
By 5.1.15
Less than a week after Ford finally issued a recall for nearly 400,000 vehicles that may contain malfunctioning door latches, the car manufacturer is adding another 156,000 of the same vehicles to the recall roster. [More]
PRO Students Act Aims To Protect Students From For-Profit Colleges’ Bad Behavior
By 4.30.15
It’s difficult to go a month or even just a few weeks without hearing of another for-profit college being under investigation for unscrupulous practices, such as inflated job placement rates and pushing students into costly student loans. New legislation announced today aims to curtail the number of investigations we hear about by protecting students from predatory, deceptive, and fraudulent practices in the for-profit college sector, before they even enroll. [More]
SEC Reportedly Investigating Bank Of America Over Customer-Protection Rule Violations
By 4.28.15
Financial institutions are required under federal law to follow an array of rules that aim to protect consumers’ accounts. Bank of America may not have followed one of those rules over the course of several years, and now reportedly faces an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. [More]
