Updates on Advertising Law and Privacy Law Trends, Issues, and Developments
Updates on Advertising Law and Privacy Law Trends, Issues, and Developments
Artificial intelligence and algorithmic processes continue to remain at the top of federal law enforcement agencies’ agendas. Yesterday, the FTC, CFPB, DOJ, and EEOC issued a joint statement pledging to use their respective tools to “protect the public from bias in automated systems and artificial intelligence.”
While these agencies’ general commitment to monitoring AI processes…
Join members of Kelley Drye’s Advertising, Privacy, and Financial Services teams on March 8, 2023 at 12:30-1:30 ET for an overview of hot topics and issues to watch for in 2023 in fintech and financial services.
Both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have set an aggressive agenda for…
On February 9, the FTC provided the CFPB with its annual summary of activities enforcing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The release of this summary provides a great opportunity for a round-up and some updates on new developments in this space over the past year.
What is ECOA?
ECOA prohibits discrimination in consumer credit transactions on the basis of a number of protected categories, including race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, and age. The statute’s prohibition covers “any aspect of a credit transaction” – a phrase that has been interpreted by the CFPB to cover creditor activities before, during, and after the extension of credit. In addition, creditors who deny a credit application, provide substantially less credit than requested, or make a change in the terms of an existing credit agreement, must provide applicants with specific reasons for the “adverse action.” Regulation B implements ECOA’s requirements and sets out more detailed rules for creditors to follow.…
Continue Reading ECOA and Beyond: Recent Updates and Developments in Discrimination Enforcement
These days, consumers can obtain everything from newspapers to meal kits to credit monitoring services through subscriptions. The prevalence of these services, and the ease with which consumers can sign up, have gotten the attention of regulators who are concerned that some negative option marketing might confuse or trick consumers. The CFPB, FTC, and state AGs have been particularly vocal about practices they deem “dark patterns,” and continue to focus on the area.
Today, the CFPB put out guidance warning covered companies and service providers that “dark patterns” surrounding negative option marketing violate the Consumer Financial Protection Act’s prohibition on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices. As the circular makes clear, the CFPB has already brought enforcement actions alleging deceptive practices around negative options (see this case against a consumer reporting agency, and this case against a company that provided registration and payment services to organizers of events and races). The announcement also notes that the CFPB’s approach to negative option “dark patterns” is generally harmonized with that of the Federal Trade Commission (the FTC put out its own Enforcement Policy Statement Regarding Negative Option Marketing in October 2021). The guidance highlights the need for companies using negative option marketing to ensure that consumers: 1) understand the material terms of the negative option; 2) provide informed consent before being charged; and 3) are able to easily cancel recurring charges.…
Continue Reading Regulators Continue to Focus on “Dark Patterns” in Negative Option Marketing
Downloading an app, buying a product or service, or otherwise interacting with a company frequently requires consumers to consent to multi-page contracts. In a new proposed rule, the CFPB would require nonbank financial companies subject to the CFPB’s supervisory jurisdiction to register any use of such form contracts if they contain terms that seek to waive or limit consumer rights and legal protections. Here are more details:
Registration requirements would apply to companies using form contracts (contracts drafted prior to the transaction for use in multiple transactions between the company and consumers). In addition, the form contracts must contain certain “covered terms and conditions,” as described below. This information would be made publicly available on the CFPB’s website.…
Continue Reading CFPB Tackles Fine Print in Consumer Financial Contracts
At this week’s National Association of Attorneys General Capital Forum, FTC Chair Lina Khan and CFPB Director Rohit Chopra addressed state AGs and their staff on a number of pressing issues, including antitrust, enforcement authority, privacy and other priorities. And most importantly to the state AG observers, both agency heads expressed the value of state…
In late September, we blogged about a lawsuit that the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups filed against the CFPB, challenging the CFPB’s update to its Supervision and Examinations Manual. As updated, the manual now states that discrimination is an “unfair” practice under the Dodd-Frank Act, and that the agency plans to scrutinize it…
In a decision with potentially far-reaching implications for the CFPB, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit yesterday ruled that the Bureau’s funding structure is unconstitutional. The case involved a longstanding challenge to the Bureau’s 2017 Payday Lending Rule and marks another significant obstacle for the Bureau two…
Most people would generally agree that discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, disability, or similar factors is a bad thing to do – indeed, that it’s “unfair” within the common meaning of the word. It’s also illegal in various circumstances – e.g., the Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits certain forms of discrimination in…
On August 4, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a report entitled, “The Convergence of Payments and Commerce: Implications for Consumers,” in which it examines the challenges and risks to consumers inherent in the rapidly evolving payment ecosystem and emergence of product offerings that blur the traditional lines of banking and commerce.
The…
