Consumer rights, unfair practices, enforcement
100 articles
PARIS (Reuters) -French investigators on Tuesday ordered Tesla to stop what they called "deceptive business practices" or face thousands of euros in fines. ...
Smucker joins a growing number of big food companies that have announced plans to eliminate artificial dyes.
Services that split up payments into installments are increasingly popular, especially among young and low-to-middle income shoppers. But now the FICO credit scoring company will be tracking that debt.
Amazon’s now-legendary “Prime Day” is July 8-11. Much like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, this means sales on lots of items on Amazon’s va...
Have I mentioned lately that the U.S. no longer has functional federal consumer protection and corporate oversight thanks to Donald Trump? And how that should probably be more of a story across journalism? Last fall you might recall that the FTC created a pop…
Washington State recently became the eighth U.S. state to pass new right to repair legislation making it cheaper and easier to repair technology you own. At this point, roughly one-third of Americans now live in a state where some form of right to repair law …
Who's gonna take the brunt of the damage?
In a win for credit bureaus and debt collectors, medical debt will be allowed to stay on your credit report after all. Last Friday, a federal judge axed a Biden-era rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that would have prohibited consumer…
Get ready to score some solid discounts on appliances, Apple products, electronics and more.
This story was originally published by ProPublica. Republished under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. A New York business frozen out of its checking account. A Georgia chemotherapy patient denied a credit card refund after a product dispute. A New Jersey service me…
In a rare win for U.S. consumer privacy, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled unanimously against T-Mobile and its subsidiary Sprint, upholding (for now) a $92 million 2020 FCC fine against the company for selling sensitive w…
"Slop bowl" places like Chipotle or Cava were all the rage in the 2010s. Now, diners are opting for spots that offer more value.
The CFPB clawed back $21bn for Americans. Now Trump is dismantling it, leaving families exposed as his donors celebrate.
Online shoppers say they’re getting hit with big, surprise fees on Korean sunscreens, skin care, makeup and more.
Several proposed and actual changes to air travel consumer protections have changed what Americans can expect when travel goes sideways. Here's what to know.
This is part two of a two-part series about the recent settlement between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Utah Consumer Protection Division (CPD), and Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub. The order (which has now been approved by a federal court) sett…
“American live entertainment is the best in the world and should be accessible to all of us," said the FTC chairman.
The FTC alleges that the concert giant has knowingly collaborated with secondary market brokers to spike ticket prices
A federal trial beginning in Amazon's hometown this week is set to examine whether the online retailing giant tricked customers into signing up for its Prime...
The FTC is claiming that Amazon made cancelling a subscription tough on purpose.
The U.S. government says Amazon manipulated people into signing up for Prime memberships that were purposefully hard to cancel. The company says its designs and disclosures follow industry standards.
Disney is in a tangled web of its own making. In just one week, the entertainment giant managed to anger both sides of the political spectrum, and then topped it all off with a Disney Plus price hike that made just about everyone mad. Now, Disney's facing cri…
Amazon will pay a $1 billion civil penalty—the largest ever in an FTC rule-violation case—and provide $1.5 billion in refunds to customers.
The FTC announced that the company will pay $1.5 billion in customer refunds.
For decades, major U.S. wireless providers have collected sensitive customer movement and location data (often down to the meter), then sold it to a long list of random dipshits — usually without bothering to clearly inform customers or get their consent. Fiv…
In this Sunday edition of Business Insider Today, we're talking about America's Costco craze. BI's Steve Russolillo doesn't get the hype.
A class action lawsuit argues that the administration's efforts to combine databases of personal information on Americans violates privacy laws and the Constitution.
Just so you know: it’s not normal for your country’s voice communications networks to be completely hijacked by scammers and marketers, rendering it almost unusable. That’s literally not something people in most serious countries have to deal with. Yet we’ve …
Scammers are pretending to be Elon Musk. They're stealing millions from hard-working people.
California this week signed a new law that tries to prevent your landlord and broadband ISP from teaming up and preventing you from using broadband competitors. Starting January 1, AB1414 requires that landlords “allow the tenant to opt out of paying for any …
He accuses them of hiding alleged dangers from the drug, following the Trump administration's unproven claim it is linked to autism.
It’s not hyperbole to say that after decades of hard work and lobbying, companies like AT&T have effectively destroyed whatever was left of federal U.S. consumer protection and corporate oversight. It’s a “victory” that’s going to result in concussive harms t…
This year, Black Friday tech shoppers should heed one important message: Don’t wait, buy now. Why? Because certain components are skyrocketing in price—and it’s expected to get even worse. DRAM prices, for example, have doubled in little more than a month. …
The lawmakers say Meta's platforms may be implicated in "about a third of all US scams" and linked to more than $50 billion in consumer losses last year.
Despite White House claims, prices on key staples are on the rise, including cranberry sauce and potatoes.
Amazon, the largest online retailer in the world, is currently benefiting from growing demand, despite increasing economic concerns among consumers...
This year, Black Friday tech shoppers should heed one important message: Don’t wait, buy now. Why? Because certain components are skyrocketing in price—and it’s expected to get even worse. DRAM prices, for example, have doubled in little more than a month. …
A Cyber Monday deal at Best Buy will net you a $100 gift card when you buy an Xbox Series X, making it easily the best deal on an Xbox console this season.
A Florida-based company is charging military veterans as much as $20,000 for help with disability claims, even though the VA has said that may be illegal and the service should be free. But so far nobody's stopping the company and others like it.
A coalition of 21 attorneys general from Democratic-led states sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its director, Russell Vought, on Monday...
If you’ve been around a while, you might remember that Verizon used to be completely obnoxious when it came to forcing you to use their phones and their shitty apps. At one point, Verizon wouldn’t even let you use a competing GPS mapping app, locking you to V…
If your product is even a third as innovative and useful as you claim it is, you shouldn’t have to go around trying a little too hard to convince people. The product’s usefulness should speak for itself. And you definitely shouldn’t be forcing people to use p…
Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions...
It’s not clear whether credit card companies will respond to his call, or what actions he might take to force any change. During the 2024 presidential...
With credit card interest rates near modern highs, President Trump says he wants to cap the rates for one year.
By David Hood-Nuño WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The U.S.
Americans' debt loads are at record highs, resurfacing a decadeslong debate on how to prevent companies from maximizing profit at consumers' expense.
Elizabeth Warren and other Democrat lawmakers have written an open letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asking for an investigation into alleged "false advertising and deceptive practices" from Trump Mobile. The company first announced its T1 Phone mo…
Democratic lawmakers are urging the FTC to investigate Trump Mobile over alleged false advertising tied to its long-delayed T1 Phone.
“Given the industry’s history of investor-harm... this turn raises troubling questions about the SEC’s priorities and effectiveness."
Gold phone more like fool's gold as none show up six months later Senator Elizabeth Warren is leading calls for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Trump Mobile for failing to ship gold phones, months after collecting deposits.…
Last May we noted how Verizon was lobbying the Trump administration to eliminate rules making it easier to switch mobile providers (and bring your phone with you). And as usual with the pay-to-play Trump administration, the Trump FCC is tripping over itself t…
Last week we noted how the Trump FCC, at the direct request of wireless phone giants, destroyed popular rules making it easier and cheaper to switch wireless carriers. The rules, applied via spectrum acquisition and merger conditions, required that Verizon un…
Is dynamic pricing the future of grocery stores?
The federal cap on credit-card interest rates that US President Donald Trump has proposed would, in theory, prevent issuers from gouging customers. But not everyone agrees that this would be good for Americans, especially lower-income households that are ofte…
The checks are from a 2024 settlement with private lender Navient over claims that it "cheated" student-loan borrowers out of lower monthly payments.
Earlier this year we noted how the Trump FCC, at the direct request of wireless phone giants, destroyed popular phone unlocking rules making it easier and cheaper to switch wireless carriers. The rules, applied via spectrum acquisition and merger conditions a…
We’ve been pointing out the fundamental contradiction at the heart of mandatory age verification laws for years now. To verify someone’s age online, you have to collect personal data from them. If that someone turns out to be a child, congratulations: you’ve …
The DOJ argued Live Nation was a monopoly controlling the concert industry, needing to be broken up. Instead, the billionaires win again.
Without this Education Department oversight, borrowers could "be placed in the wrong loan repayment status, billed for incorrect amounts" and more, the U.S. Government Accountability Office says.
A bill from Sen. Chris Murphy would make it harder for retailers and delivery services to strike special deals over price.
The Government Accountability Office found that oversight over student-loan servicers has diminished. It puts borrowers on the SAVE plan at risk.
Consumer complaints about Ticketmaster are so voluminous at state attorneys general offices that Pennsylvania's comes with an explicit plea for residents lodging a grievance about the company to be patient for a response. That kind of pressure has driven more…
Unprecedented settlement offer could target the very people who were harmed by the developer.
I cut my teeth as a telecom reporter, so I spent a lot of time writing about how broadband monopolies and cable TV giants rip off consumers with sleazy, misleading fees. I also spent a lot of that time writing about how lobbying and regulatory capture have en…
The Switch 2 maker is, like many other companies, trying to get tariff refunds following the Supreme Court ruling against Trump in February
The airline denies using surveillance pricing and says a recent viral tweet was a mistake.
The proposed class action lawsuit says the company stands to benefit twice from the now-voided import duties.
Student-loan borrowers who fall behind can get trapped in a maze of confusing communications with private lenders. Sometimes it ends in lawsuits.
Last month we noted how tech companies, automakers, and others were trying to kill Colorado’s existing “right to repair” law, which is supposed to make it cheaper and easier to repair the things you own. More specifically, tech companies like Cisco and IBM we…
Flimsy and corrupt authoritarian populism is dedicated to pretending that the oligarchs and autocrats really care about the people. One way Trumpism has done this is by pretending they actually care about reining in corporate power. That’s included an elabora…
Today, I’m talking with Brendan Ballou, founder of the Public Integrity Project and author of a new book, called When Companies Run the Courts, about the rise of forced arbitration. Brendan’s actually been on the show before — his previous book, Plunder, was …
The FTC is sounding the alarm about a growing scam this graduation and summer party season involving fake online invitations that could end up costing Americans money.
Florida's lawsuit against OpenAI -- the second one this year -- alleges the AI-maker put profits over people.
Gov. Jared Polis says he's worried about "discouraging perfectly acceptable uses of technology."
Ebay, Amazon, and Etsy are unable to stop the flood of AI-generated seed scams.
Agency leaders’ shutdown of a long-running case over contaminated baby formula has fueled a broader pullback on corporate prosecutions protecting consumer health, said people familiar with the situation.
"If you can sign up with one click, you can cancel with one click," said Mamdani.
Under a new settlement, Cash App's parent company will pay millions of dollars to NY, NJ and other states. [ more › ]
In late 2024 the Biden FTC under Lina Khan passed new “click to cancel” rules that made it easier to cancel subscriptions and services, promising to punish the worst offenders. It was a direct response to decades of sleazy behavior from companies (from AOL to…
Here’s a short crash course in U.S. telecom policy. Giant and very unpopular companies like Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, and Charter created regional monopolies that work tirelessly to erode all meaningful competition and oversight, resulting in high prices, spott…
By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK, July 22 (Reuters) - A judge rejected Zelle's bid to dismiss a lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who said the...
On Friday this week the FTC’s open comment period regarding its “Policy Statement Addressing AI Accuracy” will close, which means that a bunch of very smart, very busy people are wasting a ton of time this week writing up comments that will mostly be ignored …
The borrowers say they were defrauded by their colleges, but the class-action lawsuit to erase their federal student loans has been tangled up in courts for years.
The deal stems from a 2024 lawsuit alleging TikTok and its parent company ByteDance collected "vast amounts of data" on millions of users under the age of 13.
Logitech accused for allegedly keeping tariff refunds for itself despite raising the consumer cost of products to silently pay for tariffs.
Biden's FTC used the term surveillance pricing.
A class action filed in California accuses Logitech of raising prices to cover Trump-era import tariffs, then keeping both the higher prices and the federal refund it collected once the Supreme Court struck those tariffs down. The suit wants that money return…
Meta has agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion in a settlement with 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and Northern Mariana Islands, for the harm that its social media platforms have done to kids and teenagers. Under the terms of th…
Vought and his allies have reshaped the CFPB into an industry-friendly, less aggressive regulator
The companies say there's no proof anyone was harmed
"Particulate matter can cause blockage and clotting in blood vessels," according to the recall notice.
I scream, you scream, we all scream because our food is filled with rocks.
Usually, airlines will offer meals and hotel vouchers when there's a maintenance delay. But new rules in Washington, D.C., could change all that.
How many millions more pounds of uninspected meat will the USDA ultimately allow to hit the market in 2026?
The US Federal Trade Commission is investigating OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI labs over the risks their technology poses to consumers. An FTC spokesperson confirmed the probe on Wednesday to CNBC and CBS News. The New York Post first reported the probe earl…
The Federal Trade Commission is looking into the actions of leading AI labs Anthropic (ANTH.PVT), OpenAI (OPAI.PVT), and other AI firms to determine if they've harmed or misled consumers.According to the New York Times, the investigation centers on whether th…
Trump FCC Boss Brendan Carr loves to insist he’s being tough on robocalls, which have increasingly rendered U.S. voice communications networks less and less usable. Except whenever you actually dig into his plans, it usually involves making it easier for big …
Effective October 19, airlines are no longer required to provide things like lodging and meals during many types of mechanical delays under a new regulation adopted by the Department of Transportation.
The Comptroller of the Currency says the nation's nine largest banks denied financial services to customers based on their political, religious, or social beliefs, according to a regulatory review released Wednesday. The OCC reviewed nearly 100,000 complaints…