On April 14, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in related cases, Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) v. Cochran, holding that constitutional challenges to the agencies’ structures can proceed directly in federal district court before raising them in administrative hearings before the agencies. The

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reached a settlement with three companies over an alleged telemarketing scam involving extended automobile warranties. In addition to imposing a penalty of $6.6 million, which is largely suspended based on the companies’ inability to pay, the stipulated order includes a lifetime ban from the extended automobile warranty industry and

Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with the stated intent to make it easier for consumers to cancel recurring subscriptions and memberships. This rulemaking is part of the FTC’s review of its Negative Option Rule. Amongst other things, the proposed rule would increase the coverage of the Negative Option

On March 15, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) submitted a report to Congress discussing its findings regarding the frauds, scams, and bad business practices that affect American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities and the FTC’s efforts to address these issues. Specifically, the FTC asserts that auto purchasing and financing, predatory lending, impersonation scams, tech

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it is launching an inquiry into the small business credit reporting industry. Specifically, it is ordering five firms to provide detailed information about their products and processes.

According to the FTC, the impetus for this inquiry is that unlike consumer reports, which are governed by the Fair Credit

On February 28, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) jointly issued a Request for Information, seeking public comment on how background screening affects individuals seeking rental housing in the United States. Specifically, the Request seeks information on the use of consumer reports and credit scores, criminal and eviction records, and

On February 9, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released an announcement about updates that postsecondary institutions must make to their cybersecurity and data protection policies in order to comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s amended Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information (Safeguards Rule), a component of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). The effective date for most

On February 23, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced that it has issued orders to nine of the largest auto lenders requesting information about their auto lending portfolios. According to the CFPB, the nine targeted lenders represent a cross-section of the auto finance market and the data collected in response to these

On February 9, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) submitted its annual letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) summarizing its activities enforcing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and its implementing regulation, Regulation B. This letter is included in the CFPB’s annual report to Congress on the ECOA. A copy of the summary was

On February 14, TransUnion filed its annual 10-K report pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Act. Under the section entitled “Risks Related to Laws, Regulations and Government Oversight,” the company disclosed that it was in “active settlement discussions” with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the alleged Fair Credit