Category Archives: Press Releases and Editorials
Consumer group calls for FDA action on generic Nexium
Contact: Richard Holober / Brian Taylor [CFC press release:] The nonprofit advocacy organization Consumer Federation of California (CFC) is calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to save American consumers three billion dollars a year by ending a bottleneck that is keeping affordable, generic versions … Read More ›
Bill would restore online privacy
by Richard Holober, Los Angeles Daily News guest commentary
CFC Executive Director Richard Holober: “Next week California lawmakers decide whether to protect your privacy when you purchase downloads. Senate Bill 383 would restore privacy rules that a sharply divided state Supreme Court eliminated in a 2013 case involving Apple’s iTunes. Consumer groups support the bill. Tech companies are working furiously to defeat it.” Read More ›
Assembly approves bill to prohibit spying on rental computer customers
[CFC press release] The state Assembly has unanimously approved a measure to protect consumer privacy by restricting the use of spyware on rented computers. Assembly Bill 2667 “outlaws the conduct of companies such as Aaron’s, a large national rent-to-own retail chain, which used secret spyware on rental computers to collect passwords, credit card records and medical records, and to activate webcams which photographed customers engaged in intimate activities in their homes,” according to Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California, which sponsored the measure carried by Assemblymember Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica. Read More ›
Data miners collect more of your information than you know
A new federal report sheds light on the hidden world of data brokers. These multi-billion dollar companies collect data on hundreds of millions of Americans, which they analyze, package, and sell without consumer permission or input. Read More ›
Why are we supporting Apple’s sweatshops?
While many of us eagerly await Apple’s next generation iPhone or MacBook, Apple conveniently hides these reprehensible working conditions on the other side of the planet. The tech giant’s glaring and shocking lack of social responsibility plays an oppressive role in the lives of those workers who hustle to make their products. Read More ›
Apple: Enemy of consumer privacy
CFC sponsored a bill to restore privacy protections, permitting online businesses to collect only a customer’s zip code and other limited information necessary to combat fraud or identity theft. Apple is leading the opposition. Read More ›
CFC supports nomination of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Cordray currently serves as director at the CFPB, but his appointment will expire if the Senate does not confirm him by the end of this year. Read More ›
Update: New flame retardant standard public hearing
California regulators held a public hearing on March 26 to mark the end of a comment period for updating their 38-year old furniture flammability regulation, TB 117, that has been the focus of scientists, firefighters, health advocates and consumers worldwide. Read More ›
Consumer Federation of California releases 2012 Scorecard for State Legislators
The Consumer Federation of California released its 2012 Scorecard for State Legislators, rating lawmakers on their votes cast on key consumer rights bills. Read More ›
A Battle within the CPUC: Cell Phone Privacy Vote
The California Public Utilities Commission is now scheduled to vote on January 16, on opposing Commissioners’ proposals to either take steps to protect consumers’ telecom privacy or to stay with outdated rules that were put in place before cell phones and data-mining applications existed. Read More ›
In addition to CFC press releases and op-eds written by CFC and published around the state, selections below include selected CFC advocacy blog posts through 2013.
California consumer laws in effect in 2013
Here is a look at some of the consumer rights bills that the Consumer Federation of California supported that were signed into law and will take effect in 2013. Read More ›
CFC supports bill creating oversight and transparency of CPUC giveaways
Senator Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, was joined by Richard Holober, Consumer Federation of California, and representatives from The Utility Reform Network (TURN), at a press conference today to unveil legislation that would prohibit the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) from giving away millions of dollars in ratepayer money to third parties without oversight and transparency. Read More ›