PrivacyRSS

  • May 24, 2012

    Fast-Food Chains Back Debit Card Fee Rule Challenge

    A coalition of national fast-food and convenience store chains including Burger King Corp. and 7-Eleven Inc. on Tuesday threw its support behind retailers challenging the level at which the Federal Reserve has set debit card transaction fees as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act.

  • May 23, 2012

    Australian Parliament Takes Up Privacy Act Reforms

    The Australian government on Wednesday unveiled long-anticipated reforms to the country's Privacy Act that would give consumers greater control over their personal information, modernize credit reporting arrangements and strengthen the privacy commissioner's enforcement powers.

  • May 23, 2012

    Crate & Barrel Hammers Out Deal Ending ZIP Code Suits

    Crate & Barrel has tentatively resolved seven proposed class actions over its collection of customers' ZIP codes and a related coverage dispute with Hartford Fire Insurance Co. in Illinois federal court.

  • May 23, 2012

    FCC Considers Beefing Up New Anti-Cramming Rule

    The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday proposed strengthening its recently approved rule to shield consumers from unauthorized third-party charges on landline phones by adding an opt-in mechanism and expanding this rule to cover cellphone and Internet service providers.

  • May 23, 2012

    NJ Panel Advances Bill Speeding Class Cert. Appeals

    A New Jersey Assembly panel on Monday approved legislation that would give adversaries in class action litigation the right to immediately appeal decisions granting or denying class certification.

  • May 23, 2012

    White House Orders Gov't Agencies To Take Data Mobile

    The White House on Wednesday ordered all major federal agencies to jump on the mobile Internet bandwagon within the next year, and wants to pull in private-sector help in order to make that happen.

  • May 23, 2012

    Sony Ends PSN Data Breach Coverage Fight In Calif.

    Sony Corp. said Monday that it will drop a California suit seeking coverage for a slew of lawsuits it faces after hackers plundered its PlayStation Network for customer information, and will instead litigate the issues in a New York suit brought by one of its insurers.

  • May 23, 2012

    3rd Circ. OKs Wal-Mart’s Appeal Of Cert. For Warranty Class

    The Third Circuit gave Wal-Mart Stores Inc. a green light Wednesday to challenge the certification of a class of consumers who were allegedly sold worthless extended warranties for ineligible “as-is” merchandise, despite the plaintiff's insistence that the lower court's analysis was sound.

  • May 23, 2012

    CFPB Eyes Regulation For Prepaid Cards

    The federal government's consumer finance watchdog on Wednesday said that it was considering new rules that would increase disclosure of fees on a popular type of prepaid card and require protections similar to those of checking accounts for the products.

  • May 23, 2012

    Dexatrim Maker Says Suit Doesn't Show Harm From Carcinogen

    Drugmaker Chattem Inc. asked a California federal judge Monday to toss a proposed class action accusing it of concealing the presence of a carcinogen in its Dexatrim weight loss capsules, saying the consumer doesn’t argue she was harmed by the supplement.

  • May 23, 2012

    Electronic Banking Data Bill OK'd By NY Senate Panel

    A bill to streamline how New York-regulated banks preserve electronic records got a nod from a Republican-controlled Senate panel Wednesday, despite consumer protection concerns, as lawmakers sought to make it easier for financial companies to comply with record-keeping rules.

  • May 23, 2012

    Ill. Legislature Bans Employer Access To Facebook Passwords

    The Illinois Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to prevent employers from demanding Facebook and other social networking website passwords from their workers or job applicants, sending the proposed measure to the governor for final approval.

  • May 23, 2012

    UK Teddy Bear Co. Sues J&J Unit Over Misleading Zyrtec Ad

    The Great British Teddy Bear Co. Ltd., which sells stuffed animals dressed as Sherlock Holmes, Beefeater guards and other classic English characters, sued a Johnson & Johnson unit over a Zyrtec antihistamine ad that allegedly infringes copyright protections and falsely advertises that the plush toys aren't hypoallergenic.

  • May 23, 2012

    Facebook Strikes Deal To Resolve 'Like' Ad Action

    Facebook Inc. has reached a settlement in principle in a putative class action targeting Facebook's allegedly nonconsensual use of users' "likes" in advertisements, according to a court document filed Monday in California federal court.

  • May 22, 2012

    EU Adopts Plan To Strengthen Consumer Protection Rules

    The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled a strategy to enhance consumer confidence by modernizing and stepping up enforcement of regulations that combat unsafe products and misleading advertising in the food, energy, transportation, financial and digital sectors.

  • May 22, 2012

    Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Put Accounts At Risk, Suit Says

    Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. were slapped Friday with a putative class action in California federal court accusing them of failing to protect customers' securities accounts while converting to a new platform.

  • May 22, 2012

    Ocean Spray Should Ditch Negative V8 Claims, NAD Says

    The National Advertising Division announced Tuesday that cranberry juice maker Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. should pull claims from its advertisements that imply Campbell Soup Co.'s V8 vegetable juice has a high sodium content.

  • May 22, 2012

    WilmerHale Partner Heads To Neustar To Handle Privacy

    Neustar Inc. has recruited a WilmerHale partner and former Federal Trade Commission attorney and adviser to serve as its chief privacy officer and deputy general counsel, the technology company announced Tuesday.

  • May 22, 2012

    Senators Slather Scorn On FDA After Sunscreen Label Delay

    Feeling burned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision to delay strict labeling rules for sunscreen, New York lawmakers urged the agency Monday to reverse course and quickly end "deceptive practices" in the industry before another summer ends.

  • May 22, 2012

    Lack Of Injury Dooms $4.2M Junk Fax Ruling, 7th Circ. Hears

    An estate planning attorney accused of sending unsolicited advertisements to a class of fax recipients told the Seventh Circuit on Tuesday that the $4.2 million judgment against him should be reversed, saying the plaintiffs needed to show an actual injury.