Attorney General Consumer Protection News: January 2022
Multistate Actions Led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a bipartisan coalition of 39 attorneys general obtained a $1.85 billion settlement with student loan servicer Navient. Under the settlement, Navient will make a total of $95 million in restitution…
Consumer Chief of the Month: Shennan Kavanagh, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
I joined the Consumer Protection Division (CPD) at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (MA AGO) in October of 2015 after 12 years in private practice litigating consumer finance class actions. My entire legal career has been devoted to consumer protection. It is an area of law that, in my experience, provides boundless opportunities to serve…
Communities of Color, Fraud, and Consumer Protection Agencies
In recent months, both the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) produced reports on the connection between minority populations and consumer issues.1 Each report came to the same conclusion: unfair and deceptive practices have unique and disproportionate impacts on communities of color. These findings suggest that more needs to be…
Bipartisan Coalition of Attorneys General Urge FDA to Preserve State Regulation of Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids
Washington, D.C. — The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) is urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to preserve states’ authority to enforce their consumer protection laws in connection to the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids. The FDA is currently considering a proposal that, for the first time, would allow a new category…
NAAG Responds to FDA’s Comment Request on New Over-The-Counter Hearing Aid Rules
In response to a request for comments from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding new rules regulating over-the-counter hearing aids, NAAG submitted comments encouraging the FDA to take the below steps to ensure that states maintain a role as regulators in this emerging market: The FDA should define preemption terms in a way that…
Attorneys General Work to Stop International Scam Calls
Washington, D.C. — The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) today urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to put in place measures that will help stem the tide of foreign-based illegal robocalls that attempt to scam Americans. The bipartisan group of 51 attorneys general is calling for the FCC to require gateway providers – the…
NAAG asked FCC to curb foreign-based illegal robocalls
The attorneys general are asking the FCC to require gateway providers to take additional measures to reduce robocalls, including: Responding to requests from law enforcement, state attorneys general, or the FCC to trace back calls within 24 hours. Blocking calls when providers are aware of an illegal or likely fraudulent caller. Blocking calls that originate…
Center for Consumer Protection 2021 Year in Review
As 2022 begins, we look back upon the consumer protection work the nation’s attorneys general undertook in 2021 with this Year in Review. In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to grip the world and attorneys general took action on a number of fronts to protect consumers from COVID-related harms. But consumer protection efforts were certainly…
Attorney General Consumer Protection News: December 2021
Multistate Actions Led by Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, a bipartisan coalition of 33 attorneys general wrote the Consumer Financial Consumer Protection Bureau (CFPB), calling for stronger consumer safeguards for money sharing platforms and apps. The letter, written in response to the CFPB’s request for comments on its inquiry…
Federal Consumer Protection News: December 2021
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a supervisory highlights report identifying legal violations identified by the CFPB’s examinations in the first half of 2021. The report also highlights prior CFPB supervisory findings that led to public enforcement actions in the first half of 2021. CFPB examiners often find problems during…
