Tag: Consumer Protection

Russia Will Ban the Issuing and Selling of Cryptocurrencies

A senior Russian official says an upcoming digital assets bill will ban the issuing and selling of cryptocurrencies. Forbes reports: “We believe there are big risks of legalizing the operations with the cryptocurrencies, from the standpoint of financial stability, money laundering prevention and consumer protection,” Russia’s central bank head of legal, Alexey Guznov, told Russia news agency Interfax this week in…

This App Automatically Cancels and Sues Robocallers

DoNotPay, the family of consumer advocacy services meant to protect people from corporate exploitation, is launching a new app aimed at helping end our long national nightmare surrounding robocalls by giving you a burner credit card to get their contact details then giving you a chatbot lawyer to automatically sue them. From a report: DoNotPay Founder and CEO Joshua Browder’s Robo…

Equifax’s Stock Rose More Than 50% In 2019

“There’s still time to file a claim for a share of the $425 million that Equifax agreed to cough up after hosing almost half of the country in its massive data breach a few years ago,” writes a Pennyslvania newspaper columnist, pointing victims to equifaxbreachsettlement.com. “But unless you can prove you were an identity theft victim who lost money, or had…

Brazil Fines Facebook $1.6 Million for Improper Sharing of User Data

Brazil’s Ministry of Justice said on Monday it has fined U.S. tech giant Facebook 6.6 million reais ($1.6 million) for improperly sharing user data. From a report: The ministry’s department of consumer protection said it had found that data from 443,000 Facebook users was made improperly available to developers of an App called ‘thisisyourdigitallife.’ The data was being shared for “questionable”…

Spouse of Ring Exec Among Lawmakers Trying To Weaken California Privacy Law

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The California legislature worked through the summer to finalize the text of the state’s landmark data privacy law before time to make amendments ran out on Friday. In the Assembly (California’s lower house), Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin has been a key voice and vote backing motions that would weaken the law, and a…

US Lawmakers Consider Ban On Big Tech Companies Launching Cryptocurrencies

PolygamousRanchKid quotes Reuters: A proposal to prevent big technology companies from functioning as financial institutions or issuing digital currencies has been circulated for discussion by the Democratic majority that leads the House Financial Services Committee, according to a copy of the draft legislation seen by Reuters. In a sign of widening scrutiny after Facebook Inc’s (FB.O) proposed Libra digital coin aroused…

Fed Chief Calls For Facebook To Halt Libra Project Until Concerns Addressed

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that Facebook’s plan to build a digital currency called Libra “cannot go forward” until serious concerns are addressed. Reuters reports: “Libra raises many serious concerns regarding privacy, money laundering, consumer protection and financial stability,” Powell said during his semi-annual testimony on monetary policy before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services…

California’s Politicians Rush To Gut Internet Privacy Law With Pro-Tech Giant Amendments

The right for Californians to control the private data that tech companies hold on them may be undermined today at a critical committee hearing in Sacramento. The Register reports: The Privacy And Consumer Protection Committee will hold a special hearing on Tuesday afternoon to discuss and vote on nine proposed amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) — which was…