Amid the chatter regarding the elections, the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology recently released a report on Americans’ views of “Do Not Track”. They found that 87% of the 1,200 people surveyed had never heard of Do Not Track. The Do Not Track regulations that privacy groups began advocating for over 5 years ago calls for an opt-out mechanism that would allow people to opt-out once from all behavioral advertising.
Federal officials recently banned a software provider from selling, disclosing, or licensing any web browsing data for advertising purposes – and ordered to pay $16.5 million. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleged that Avast unfairly collected, stored, and sold consumers’ browsing information without adequate consent or notice.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is proposing to revise its guidelines establishing standards for recovery planning by certain large insured national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches (recovery planning guidelines) at 12 CFR 30, appendix E. The OCC invites the public to comment on all aspects of the proposal. Comments are due on August 2, 2024.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today published an edition of Supervisory Highlights sharing key findings from recent examinations of auto and student loan servicing companies, debt collectors, and other financial services providers. The report also highlights consumer complaints about medical payment products and identifies concerns with providers preventing access to deposit and prepaid account funds.
In a significant move to protect consumers, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken action against a fraudulent student loan debt relief scheme that deceived people out of over $20.3 million. This marks the first case under the FTC’s new Impersonation Rule. The FTC’s Impersonation Rule, effective from April 1, 2024, enhances the agency’s ability to tackle and deter scammers who pretend to be government agencies or businesses.