The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is facing a crisis following orders from the Trump administration to cease operations, effectively a "CFPB shutdown 2025." Acting Director Russell Vought directed CFPB staff to halt all work on February 10, 2025. This "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Trump" action has sparked outrage, with advocates warning that gutting the CFPB will leave families vulnerable to fraud and abusive financial practices. For more details, read the NCLC's analysis of the "unlawful shut down of consumer agency": Details Here.
Check out Senator Warren's message about how the CFPB protects consumers against companies that engage in practices that harm consumers. Fight back to save the CFPB!
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A key Supreme Court decision elevates the need for consumer rights advocacy.
In a major ruling (Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo), the Supreme Court cut back sharply on the power of federal agencies to interpret the laws they administer and ruled that courts should rely on their own interpretation of ambiguous laws. The decision will have far-reaching effects.
By a vote of 6-3, the justices overruled their landmark 1984 decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which gave rise to the doctrine known as the Chevron doctrine. Under that doctrine, if Congress has not directly addressed the question at the center of a dispute, a court was required to uphold the agency’s interpretation of the statute as long as it was reasonable.
Review this article to learn more about how this ruling will impact consumers.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is proposing a rule to require depository and nondepository entities to make available to consumers and authorized third parties certain data relating to consumers’ transactions and accounts; establish obligations for third parties accessing a consumer’s data, including important privacy protections for that data; provide basic standards for data access; and promote fair, open, and inclusive industry standards. Comments are due by 12/29/2023.
Fast Facts regarding the proposed rule are at:
Fast Facts: Personal Financial Data Rights Proposed Rule (consumerfinance.gov)
During a White House Roundtable on 8/15/2023, CFPB Director Chopra announced that the CFPB will be developing rules to prevent misuse and abuse by data brokers that track, collect, and monetize information about people. Many of these firms assemble data to feed “artificial intelligence” (AI) that makes decisions about our daily lives. After conducting a public inquiry into data brokers and assessing today’s uses of AI that are often powered by data from the surveillance industry, the CFPB will be issuing proposed rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to address business practices used by companies that assemble and monetize our data.For more information, check out:
When consumers buy products from online marketplaces, the identity of the seller is often unclear. The goal of the INFORM Consumers Act is to add more transparency to online transactions and to deter criminals from acquiring stolen, counterfeit, or unsafe items and selling them through those marketplaces. The Act also makes sure online marketplace users have a way to report suspicious conduct concerning high-volume third party sellers. To learn more, check out: Informing Businesses about the INFORM Consumers Act | Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov)
