Last week, multiple state Attorneys General (AGs) and staff from offices nationwide gathered in Washington, DC for the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) 2022 Consumer Protection Fall Conference. The conference addressed pressing and relevant consumer protection issues facing attorney general offices. The public portion of the conference included a panel of current and former
AG Settlements Call for Stronger Data Security
Early this week, a coalition of 40 attorneys general obtained two multistate settlements with Experian concerning data breaches it experienced in 2012 and 2015 that compromised the personal information of millions of consumers nationwide. The 2012 breach investigation was co-led by the Massachusetts and Illinois AG offices, and the 2015 investigation was co-led by the AGs of Connecticut, DC, Illinois, and Maryland. An additional settlement was reached with T-Mobile in connection with the 2015 Experian breach, which impacted more than 15 million individuals who submitted credit applications with T-Mobile.
In an effort to change corporate behavior, both settlements require Experian and T-Mobile to enhance their data security practices and to pay a combined amount of more than $16 million. Experian has agreed to bolster its due diligence and data security practices by adhering to the following:
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Washington AG Signals Enforcement on Automatic Renewals
Earlier this week, we posted that a plaintiff filed a proposed class action against the NFL over its automatic renewal practices. The complaint alleges that the NFL used “dark patterns” to enroll consumers in its NFL+ subscription without consent and that it then made it difficult for them to cancel. Although we don’t
State Attorneys General: Big Tech Update
As we’ve previously reported, the fight against “big tech” remains a high priority for State Attorneys General on both sides of the aisle. A lot of activity took place over the summer that continues to reinforce the AGs’ broad consumer protection and antitrust powers in this increasingly important area. As we move into the
Is Discrimination “Unfair” Under the UDAP Laws? New Lawsuit Challenges CFPB’s Anti-Discrimination Guidelines
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
“Dark Patterns” Loom Large in New FTC Staff Report
No, we’re not talking about sinister sewing guides, but rather practices or formats that may manipulate or mislead consumers into taking actions they would not otherwise take.
We untangled the topic of so-called “dark patterns” in two in-depth blogs earlier this year, available here and here. At that time, we noted there was a
State Attorney General Price Gouging Claims Find New Life
Last month, we discussed the broad authority that State Attorneys General have in enforcing price gouging laws – many of which remain in effect given the number of states that are still under some state of emergency. We noted the significant expansion in recent AG enforcement, and observed that at least two courts had pushed back on these efforts, dismissing cases brought by the Texas and New York Attorneys General. Just a short month later however, both cases have now been reinstated by appellate courts, again raising the prospects that AGs will continue to push the boundaries in price gouging enforcement, especially while consumers are struggling to deal with high prices due to labor shortages and inflation.
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State AGs: DOT Needs an On-Time Departure
This week, 38 Attorneys General joined forces in a letter promulgated by the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) to urge Congress to provide them with authority to address consumers’ frustrations with airlines, further advocating for a shift of federal authority over consumer complaints away from the Department of Transportation.
Stating that the airline industry
Upcoming Price Gouging and Employee/HR Data Privacy Webinars
How To Protect Employee/HR Data and Comply with Data Privacy Laws
Wednesday, July 20
As workforces become increasingly mobile and remote work is more the norm, employers face the challenge of balancing the protection of their employees’ personal data and privacy against the need to collect and process personal data to recruit, support and monitor
Carnival Cruise Brings Multistate Data Breach into Port
Even as states continue to pass comprehensive privacy laws, Attorneys General remain active enforcing their data breach laws and utilizing their deceptive trade practice authority in the privacy space. Just last week, 46 State AGs signed on to a settlement, which took the form of an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance, with international cruise corporation Carnival