News & Notes

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 […]

The Department of Consumer and Business Services encourages all consumers to check with their insurance agent or company to see if a credit check would lower their insurance premiums. Consumers are allowed to do a rerate once a year and if their credit improves, their insurance rates may as well. Rerating due to credit may result in either improving or no change to a consumer’s insurance costs, but will not negatively affect it.

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.

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.

Congress passed the Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act ("INFORM").

Deficient chatbots that prevent access to live, human support can lead to law violations, diminished service, and other harms. The shift away from relationship banking and toward algorithmic banking will have a number of long-term implications that the CFPB will continue to monitor closely. Chatbots in consumer finance | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/chatbots-in-consumer-finance/chatbots-in-consumer-finance/

The Complaint outlines details of Amazon’s knowing failure to address non-consensual subscriptions and cancellation trickery.   The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against Amazon.com, Inc. for its years-long effort to enroll consumers into its Prime program without their consent while knowingly making it difficult for consumers to cancel their subscriptions to Prime. Read more:  FTC Takes […]

Microsoft will pay $20 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal information from children who signed up to its Xbox gaming system without notifying their parents or obtaining their parents’ consent, and by illegally retaining children’s personal information.

As more people look for alternative ways to save for retirement, self-directed individual retirement accounts (IRAs) have become increasingly popular. While self-directed IRAs offer investors greater control over their investments, they also come with potential risks and financial losses.