Category Archives: Uncategorized
How secrecy in U.S. courts hobbles the regulators meant to protect the public
Mike Spector, Jaimi Dowdell and Benjamin Lesser. Reuters, Jan 16,2020 Something wasn’t right with the Rhino. Reports started trickling in to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 2005 of people being killed or injured in the Yamaha Motor Co off-road vehicles when they tipped over. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-courts-secrecy-regulators/
NHTSA May Recall Every Tesla Ever Made Over Sudden Unintended Acceleration Complaint
Steve Hanley, Cleantechnica Jan. 18, 2020 – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says it is reviewing a petition that claims every Tesla Model S, Model X, and Model 3 sold in America since 2012 is defective and should be recalled. Why?https://cleantechnica.com/2020/01/18/nhtsa-may-recall-every-tesla-ever-made-over-sudden-unintended-acceleration-complaint/
German prosecutors file charges against 6 VW employees over dieselgate
Reuters, January 14, 2020 – Prosecutors in Braunschweig, Germany on Tuesday filed charges against six Volkswagen employees for their role in helping the carmaker put heavily polluting diesel cars on German roads. https://www.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-emissions-charges-idUSFWN29J0FD
Trump renews attack on lightbulbs and goes after dishwashers, fridges, toilets and showers
By Andy Gregory, The Independent, January 15, 2020 Donald Trump has revisited his vendetta against energy-saving lightbulbs, ascribing them the blame for his orange hue while extending the focus of his ire to include showers, dishwashers and toilets in a wide-ranging rally speech in Milwaukee. https://news.yahoo.com/trump-renews-attack-lightbulbs-goes-113230094.html
For-profit colleges masquerade as “non-profit” or “public” institutions
AB 70 (Berman) would stop for-profit Grand Canyon University and Purdue Universal Global from misleading students. A coalition of fifteen consumer and student advocacy groups is urging the California State Assembly to stop a new trend among for-profit college corporations. AB 70 (Berman) would stop for-profit Grand … Read More ›
Boeing employee said 737 Max ‘is designed by clowns’ and ‘supervised by monkeys’
Mike Murphy, Marketwatch. January 11, 2020. Newly released internal emails from Boeing Co. paint a disturbing picture of its 737 Max program, with employees bragging about fooling FAA regulators and ridiculing its safety. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/boeing-emails-show-workers-mocking-faa-ridiculing-737-maxs-safety-2020-01-09
Electric scooter injuries rising, one-third involve the head
Linda Carroll, Reuters January 10, 2020. Injuries and hospital admissions involving sharable two-wheeled electric scooters are on the rise in the U.S., a new study finds. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-scooters-injuries/electric-scooter-injuries-rising-one-third-involve-the-head-idUSKBN1Z92EA
PG&E Monthly Gas Bills Set To Jump About 11 Percent
by George Avalos, East Bay Times
PG&E customers must brace for a double-digit increase in their monthly gas bills after state regulators Thursday approved a program to pay for upgrades to the utility’s aging pipeline system in the wake of the deadly San Bruno explosion. Read More ›
Is Your Set-Top Box Telling Advertisers What You Watch?
by David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times
“They’re hiding the ball,” said Dallas Harris, a policy fellow with the advocacy group Public Knowledge who co-wrote the complaints [to the FCC and FTC]. “They say in their privacy policies that they may collect data on you and they may use it for marketing. They know that’s what they’re doing. So there’s a big disconnect between what they say and what’s actually happening.” Read More ›
Prosecutor Begins PG&E Trial With Blistering Opening Statement
by Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle
After the September 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes, PG&E “made a deliberate choice to not follow these … safety regulations,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Hallie Hoffman, the lead prosecutor, said in her opening statement in a packed federal courtroom. Read More ›
Cable And Telecom Companies Just Lost A Huge Court Battle On Net Neutrality
by Brian Fung, Washington Post
The court verdict puts to rest — for now — a key question: Whether the Internet represents a vital communications platform that deserves to be regulated with the same scrutiny as the common networks of the past, such as the telephone system. Read More ›
ConsumerWatch Weekend Roundup
Julie Watts’ featured guest on Saturday was Richard Holober of the Consumer Federation of California, whose organization is one of many consumer groups urging regulators to revise the standard for child car seat flammability. Read More ›
Consumer Advocates Back FCC Proposal For Broadband Privacy Rules
by Rick Weber, Inside Cybersecurity
Consumer advocates are backing the general intention of a Federal Communications Commission proposal that would impose privacy requirements on Internet service providers. Read More ›