Consumer Protection

  • September 11, 2025

    FCC Focuses On 'Friendly' Space Regulatory Environment

    Federal Communications Commission leaders said this week one of their top goals is to make the U.S. the world's most hospitable regulatory turf for commercial space activity as "Space Race 2.0" accelerates with China.

  • September 11, 2025

    Audible Credit Suit Raises Question On Wash. Gift Card Law

    A federal judge in Seattle has floated asking Washington's high court to clarify the scope of the Evergreen State's gift card law, suggesting on Thursday that a consumer suit over expiring Audible credits hinges on whether the statute only covers instruments with monetary value.  

  • September 11, 2025

    FCC Warns Cable, Prime Customers Of Scam Offering 50% Off

    Comcast and Amazon won't offer customers discounts on their subscription if they pay in gift cards, the Federal Communications Commission is warning after noticing the proliferation of a new scam claiming that a "50% discount on your monthly bill is set to expire."

  • September 11, 2025

    Mich. Judge Greenlights Fiat Chrysler Engine Fire Settlement

    A Michigan federal judge on Thursday granted preliminary approval to a settlement between drivers and FCA US LLC to resolve claims that the automaker sold trucks with an engine defect that could cause fires.

  • September 11, 2025

    Disney Flouts Privacy Law By Exploiting User Data, Suit Says

    The Walt Disney Co. is flouting privacy laws by illegally gathering and sharing with Google personal information of individuals who visit its website for data monetization and advertising purposes, without their knowledge or consent, according to a proposed class action filed in California federal court.

  • September 11, 2025

    Google, Apple Fight Proposed UK App Ranking, Pay Mandates

    Apple and Google both pushed back on proposals by United Kingdom antitrust authorities to stop the companies from boosting their own apps and using commission-based payment systems but took slightly different approaches, according to separate responses made public Thursday.

  • September 11, 2025

    Execs Seek Exit From Predatory Loan Suit Naming Tribal Biz

    Company executives accused of operating a predatory lending scheme involving the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe have asked a California federal judge to strike class allegations against them and send the suit to arbitration, saying the lead plaintiff waived his right to bring class actions in his loan agreement.

  • September 11, 2025

    Roblox, Discord Again Accused Of Ignoring Teen Exploitation

    The mother of a 14-year-old girl allegedly groomed by a predator on Roblox and Discord recently joined the slew of parents suing the online platforms for failing to safeguard children from being sexually exploited, saying in a suit filed in California federal court that she wrongly believed Roblox in particular was safe for children.

  • September 11, 2025

    23 States Back High Court Stay Of FTC Dem's Reinstatement

    Florida and 22 other states have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to grant the Trump administration's request to block a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission from serving on the commission while she challenges her firing.

  • September 11, 2025

    Vet's Wells Fargo Credit Ding Didn't Break Law, Jury Finds

    Wells Fargo didn't violate the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act by failing to recognize fraud affecting the account of a customer who described himself as a veteran of the U.S. military's special forces, a federal jury in Washington state has concluded.

  • September 10, 2025

    Uber Balanced Safety With Need For Growth, Jurors Told

    Uber's former head of global safety testified Wednesday in a bellwether trial over sexual assault allegations against the ride-hailing giant, telling jurors that during his tenure, Uber worked to balance safety priorities with its corporate growth.

  • September 10, 2025

    FTC Urged To Probe Microsoft Over Ascension Data Breach

    U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into Microsoft's "gross cybersecurity negligence" that has allegedly contributed to cyberattacks against critical infrastructure providers, including a 2024 ransomware hack that targeted hospital system Ascension.

  • September 10, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revisit Double-Patenting, Soda TM Appeals

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday declined to revisit its decisions in a trio of intellectual property cases, including one where it upheld an Acadia Pharmaceuticals Parkinson's disease drug patent and addressed double-patenting, and another deeming "Kist" and "Sunkist" soft drink marks confusingly similar.

  • September 10, 2025

    2nd Circ. OKs Verizon's $47M FCC Fine, Splitting With 5th Circ.

    The Second Circuit upheld Wednesday the Federal Communications Commission's $46.9 million fine against Verizon Communications Inc. for misuse of device-location data, rejecting Verizon's arguments that the data falls outside federal privacy protections and that such a penalty without a jury trial was unconstitutional, creating a split with the Fifth Circuit.

  • September 10, 2025

    NC Justice Probes 'Scalia-Style' View Of Waste Fee Law

    A North Carolina Supreme Court justice probed the expansiveness of counsel's argument over a county's solid waste ordinance Wednesday, wondering if channeling a "Justice Scalia"-style reading of the text suggests that a property owner could hire a private waste collector just once a year to sidestep an annual fee.

  • September 10, 2025

    FCC's Carr Says Agency Clawbacks Save More Than $9M

    The Federal Communications Commission will be clawing back more than $9 million in overpayments that it says it mistakenly made to telecoms and discovered as part of an audit of the "antiquated high-cost program."

  • September 10, 2025

    SEC Says Adviser Startup Broke Investor Data Privacy Rule

    An investment adviser representative and his firm were hit with a suit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday over claims that the adviser, among other things, emailed himself confidential client information from his former employer as a step in creating his own investment firm.

  • September 10, 2025

    FCC Sticks With Nearly $1M Pirate Radio Fine

    A New York City area man was slapped with a nearly $1 million Federal Communications Commission fine Wednesday for operating an illegal radio station, after the agency says he ignored the notice warning that they intended to fine him for nearly a year.

  • September 10, 2025

    Texas Gov. Issues Executive Order On Hemp Products For Kids

    Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday issued an executive order requiring state agencies to implement rules restricting the sale of hemp-derived psychoactive products to anyone under the age of 21.

  • September 10, 2025

    Md. Appeals Court Says Psychoactive Hemp Wares Illegal

    A Maryland appeals court on Tuesday ruled that products containing psychoactive compounds derived from hemp are illegal, delivering a blow to a coalition of hemp interests that brought a constitutional challenge to the state's recreational marijuana legalization law.

  • September 10, 2025

    NCAA Bans Hoopsters For Betting, Rigging Performances

    The NCAA has permanently banned three California college basketball players for their "coordinated effort" to bet on their own games, each other's games and their own performances, with at least one athlete manipulating his on-court performance to secure gambling wins.

  • September 10, 2025

    Consumers Defend Challenge To Nippon-US Steel Merger

    Consumers urged a California federal judge Wednesday not to dismiss their challenge to Nippon Steel's now-closed purchase of U.S. Steel Corp., arguing they've fixed an earlier lawsuit's shortcomings.

  • September 10, 2025

    3rd Circ. Questions NJ's Bid To Block Kalshi's Sports Bets

    The Third Circuit seemed prepared on Wednesday to block New Jersey from enforcing a sports gambling ban on trading platform KalshiEx, with at least one judge arguing the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's authority to regulate the event contracts space "seems quite broad."

  • September 10, 2025

    FTC Warns Healthcare Employers About Noncompetes

    The Federal Trade Commission has sent letters warning healthcare employers and staffing companies not to include overly broad noncompete restrictions in their employment contracts and urged them to conduct a review to ensure they comply with the law.

  • September 10, 2025

    Biz Groups Ask 4th Circ. To Revisit Ethylene Oxide Class Suit

    Business groups have urged the Fourth Circuit to reconsider a recent ruling that allowed a West Virginia woman's proposed class action to proceed against Union Carbide Corp. and Covestro LLC over ethylene oxide exposure, arguing that she doesn't have ground for her medical-monitoring claims.

Expert Analysis

  • Open Banking Is On Ice As CFPB Seeks To Toss Its Own Rule

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    Even as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's efforts to toss its open banking rule play out in Kentucky federal court, it remains statutorily required to effectuate consumer access to data, raising questions about how it would replace the previously finalized standard, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Opinion

    DOJ's HPE-Juniper Settlement Will Help US Compete

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    The U.S. Department of Justice settlement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise clears the purchase of Juniper Networks in a deal that positions the U.S. as a leader in secure, scalable networking and critical digital infrastructure by requiring the divestiture of a WiFi network business geared toward small firms, says John Shu at Taipei Medical University.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • Wells Fargo Suit Shows Consumer Protection Limits In Mass.

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    The Massachusetts Appeals Court's May decision in Wells Fargo Bank v. Coulsey underscores that consumer rights are balanced against the need for closure, and even the broad protections of state consumer protection law will not open the door to relitigating the same claims, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Series

    Ohio Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    Ohio's financial services sector saw several significant developments in the second quarter of 2025, including a case that confirmed credit unions' setoff rights, another that established contract rights between banks and cardholders, and the House passage of a digital asset bill, say attorneys at Frost Brown.

  • Managing Risks As State AGs Seek To Fill Enforcement Gap

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    Given an unprecedented surge in state attorney general activity resulting from significant shifts in federal enforcement priorities, companies must consider tailored strategies for navigating the ever-evolving risk landscape, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Breaking Down Novel Va. Social Media Law For Minors

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    While a Virginia bill passed in May is notable for setting a one-hour daily limit on minors' use of social media, other provisions create compliance burdens for social media operators and app store providers, and increase privacy and security risks associated with the collection of sensitive information to prove identity, says Jenna Rode at Hunton.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

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    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • FDA's Hasty Policymaking Approach Faces APA Challenges

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    Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has abandoned its usual notice-and-comment process for implementing new regulatory initiatives, two recent district court decisions make clear that these programs are still susceptible to Administrative Procedure Act challenges, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

  • DOJ Crypto Enforcement Is Shifting To Target Willfulness

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    Three pending criminal prosecutions could be an indication of how the U.S. Department of Justice's recent digital assets memo is shaping enforcement of the area, and show a growing focus on executives who knowingly allow their platforms to be used for criminal conduct involving sanctions offenses, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • How NJ's Proposed Privacy Rules Could Reshape AI Data Use

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    Although not revolutionary, New Jersey's proposed privacy rules would create obligations around the management and processing of consumer personal data that will require careful planning before they can be successfully implemented, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Business Takeaways Following CCPA Enforcement Actions

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    Advisories and recent enforcement activity by the California Privacy Protection Agency against Honda and Todd Snyder underscore the agency's enforcement interest in the intersection of data minimization and consumer rights, and could make it more challenging for a business to provide a streamlined consumer rights process, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Compliance Lessons From 1st-Ever Product Safety Sentences

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    A California federal judge’s recent sentencing of two former Gree USA executives in a landmark Consumer Product Safety Act case serves as a reminder of the federal government’s willingness to pursue criminal prosecution of individuals who fail to report safety hazards, as well as companies’ need to strengthen their reporting and compliance programs, say attorneys at Cooley.

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