Usually, D.C. moves slowly. There’s a kind of plodding, methodical rhythm to Congress and the federal agencies, and very little turns on a dime. So it stands out that less than 48 hours after introducing a bill into the Senate, over 42,000 people have already objected to basically everything about it. [More]
petitions
Uber’s Petition Website Hacked To Redirect To Lyft Homepage
By 6.15.15
It’s no secret that ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft have enjoyed a spirited rivalry in recent years. Over the weekend, a security researcher inserted himself into the crosshairs of the two ride-hailing services by exploiting a vulnerability in Uber’s petition website that allowed him to showcase and redirect visitors to Lyft’s homepage, while also changing the content of some petitions. Now he’s warning the company – and others like it – to take precautions when using petition and contest websites, as they might prove to be a welcome mat for malevolent hackers. [More]
Internet Money Guys Start Asking The FCC Not To Implement Net Neutrality
By 4.30.15
Net neutrality has already made a lot of enemies, and the new rule hasn’t even been implemented yet. Along with big ISP lawsuits and hostility in the House, the FCC’s Open Internet Rule is now facing pushback from some of the big money entrepreneurs who make the internet their business. [More]
200,000 Consumers (And Counting) Ask Their Phone Companies To Just Let Them Block Robocalls Already
By 3.2.15
You still hate robocalls. We still hate robocalls. And over 200,000 other Americans hate robocalls, too, and have signed on to a petition asking their phone companies to just roll out the darn tech to block them already. [More]
60,000 Consumers Call On FCC To Not Allow Robocalls To Cellphones
By 2.19.15
Earlier this year, we told you how the American Bankers Association was seeking exemptions from the FCC that would allow banks to get around a law that forbids businesses from robocalling cellphones without prior approval. Today, 60,000 consumers are telling the FCC to just say now to the banks’ request. [More]
Petition Demands Big Banks Give Consumers Back Our Right To Sue
By 10.31.14
Since 2011, when the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that it was perfectly okay for companies to take away a consumer’s right to sue — and their ability to join other wronged consumers in a class action — by inserting a paragraph or two of text deep in lengthy, unchangeable contracts, the rush has been on for almost every major retailer, wireless provider, cable company, and financial institution to slap these mandatory binding arbitration clauses into their customer agreements. Now one petition is gathering signatures, calling on the nation’s largest banks to put an end to the practice. [More]
White House Responds To Petition Asking For Direct-To-Consumer Tesla Sales In All 50 States
By 7.15.14
While the White House will respond to any We The People petition over 100,000 signatures, that doesn’t mean that the answer is always going to be something petitioners want to hear. And in the case of the 138,469 who wanted the administration to prevent sales from banning direct-to-consumer auto sales from companies like Tesla, that reply is pretty much, “Can’t do it, that’s Congress’ thing.” [More]
White House Wants FCC To Support Net Neutrality, Won’t Order It To Reclassify Broadband ISPs
By 2.18.14
The White House today issued a response to a petition asking the Obama administration to intervene with the FCC to preserve net neutrality. Although the response “reaffirms” and “strongly supports” the administration’s commitment to net neutrality, that support does not extend to telling the FCC what to do. [More]
Congressional Democrats Propose Legislation To Preserve Net Neutrality
By 2.3.14
Net neutrality may be dead since a court overturned it in January, but legislators are trying to resurrect it as quickly as possible. [More]
87,000 People Petition McDonald’s To Put Veggie Burgers On Menu
By 1.31.14
In spite of the salads on the menu, most fast food eateries cater to omnivores. I remember working with a vegetarian who would (willingly, mind you) go with me and my fellow co-workers to local fast food joints and order cheeseburgers without the meat, content to eat just the bun and cheese slices. Perhaps, all these years later, she’s one of the nearly 90,000 people who have signed a petition asking McDonald’s to put veggie burgers on the menu. [More]
Grandmother Of Poisoned Boy Asks Procter & Gamble To Stop Making Tide Pods Look Like Delicious Candy
By 9.27.13
Since their introduction in 2012, Tide detergent pods have been a lightning rod for controversy. Initially packaged in clear plastic, candy jar-like container, the glossy, orange, blue and white pods tempted an alarming number of children into taste-testing them. Procter & Gamble, the makers of Tide, have subsequently made the packaging opaque and more secure, but one woman who says her grandson almost died after biting into a Tide pod says more can be done to make the product less yummy-looking to children. [More]
More Than 286K People Ask McDonald’s To Stop Franchisees From Paying Employees With Debit Cards
By 7.17.13
A month after an ex-McDonald’s worker in Pennsylvania sued her former employers because they required that all employees receive their pay via a fee-laden Chase prepaid debit card, she has put together a petition asking McDonald’s leadership to put an end to the practice at McDonald’s nationwide. [More]
Petition Asks Kraft To Stop Using Controversial Dyes In Its Macaroni & Cheese
By 3.8.13
For anyone who grew up in the United States of Cheese-Loving America, Kraft’s Macaroni & Cheese likely made at least a few appearances on the plate at mealtimes. Picky kids are often convinced to eat dinner just at the sight of the bright orange noodles in various shapes and it’s a better alternative than say, 30 packets of ketchup or whatever else they want to eat. But two of the yellow dyes used in the product have been banned in Europe, prompting two bloggers to petition Kraft to stop using those additives. [More]
Daughter Of Breast-Cancer Survivor Petitions Victoria’s Secret To Create Nice Bras For Women With Mastectomies
By 1.17.13
After decades of watching her cancer-survivor mother struggle to find bras that fit, and those bras were either cheap and purely functional or incredibly expensive. So she’s called on Victoria’s Secret to see if the company can make mastectomy bras that look good, fit, and don’t break the bank. [More]
Petition Results In Hasbro Introducing Gender-Neutral Easy-Bake Oven
By 12.17.12
We know you’ve all been following the saga of one teen’s attempt to convince Hasbro to make a less-purple version of its famous Easy Bake Oven that her brother wouldn’t be embarrassed to use. It looks like her meeting with the toy company went well, as we’ll soon see a new version of the toy oven on the market. [More]
Cancer Patient Says Wells Fargo Evicted Her In Spite Of Court Order; Wells Fargo Says It’s Not To Blame
By 11.1.12
According to a petition that now has more than 114,000 signatures, a breast cancer patient in California claims that Wells Fargo and the sheriff evicted her from her home of 20 years at gunpoint. Meanwhile, the bank says it wasn’t involved in the [More]
Wells Fargo Pushes Pause On Foreclosure As Petition Nears 150,000 Signatures
By 8.28.12
Yesterday, we told you about the California woman who was trying to save the house she’d inherited when her mother passed away, but who claims she is facing foreclosure because the bank refuses to deal with anyone other than her late mom. Since then, more than 120,000 additional people have signed the daughter’s petition and the attention has moved Wells Fargo to put things on hold for a moment. [More]
AT&T Customers Petition CEO To Stop Throttling Unlimited Data Plans
By 2.29.12
The battle over the word “unlimited” has begun, as AT&T customers are fighting back against the Death Star’s throttling of so-called “data hogs,” even though available info shows that most of these people are using completely reasonable amounts of data for owners of unlimited plans. [More]
