PG&E Got $29 Million In ‘Corrupt Deal’ With State, Group Says
by Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle
A ratepayer group demanded Wednesday that the California Public Utilities Commission undo a $29 million profit boost for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. that the commission approved after its president reportedly solicited the utility’s help in defeating a state ballot measure. “We have got compelling evidence of a corrupt deal between PG&E and President Michael Peevey,” said Tom Long, attorney for The Utility Reform Network. Read More ›
The Creepy New Wave of the Internet
by Sue Halpern, The New York Review of Books
Apple offered a glimpse of how the Internet of Things actually might play out, when it introduced the company’s new smart watch, mobile payment system, health apps, and other, seemingly random, additions to its product line. As Mat Honan virtually shouted in Wired: “Apple is building a world in which there is a computer in your every interaction, waking and sleeping. … telling you how many steps you took, how high you climbed and how many calories you burned. … THIS IS THE NEW APPLE ECOSYSTEM. APPLE HAS TURNED OUR WORLD INTO ONE BIG UBIQUITOUS COMPUTER.” Read More ›
If You Didn’t Change the Default Password on Your Security Camera, Someone’s Probably Watching It Stream
by Kate Cox, Consumerist
Commandeered cameras are incredibly intrusive, but as far as poor default security goes, they’re only the tip of the iceberg. Every wifi router ships with a default password, and it’s super easy to look those up by make and model. Securing your router, on the other hand, takes more work. Your remotely-accessible multifunction printer might use a weak default password or in fact not have a password at all, meaning anyone with know-how could get in. Read More ›
Whose Privacy Will Uber Violate Next? Why Its Latest Bad Behavior Matters
by Alexander B. Howard, Wired
Think through the potential issues of Uber knowing who its riders are, when, and where, and what they are likely to have been doing. … Strong conclusions can be drawn from the details of an Uber travel log, as Uber has itself noted when discussing what it calls a “Ride of Glory,” defined as “anyone who took a ride between 10pm and 4am on a Friday or Saturday night, and then took a second ride from within 1/10th of a mile of the previous nights’ drop-off point 4-6 hours later (enough for a quick night’s sleep).” Read More ›
FTC Says Privacy Certification Company Was Deceptive
by John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog
TRUSTe agreed to stop the deceptive practices and disgorge $200,000. “TRUSTe promised to hold companies accountable for protecting consumer privacy, but it fell short of that pledge,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. “Self-regulation plays an important role in helping to protect consumers. But when companies fail to live up to their promises to consumers, the FTC will not hesitate to take action.” I’ve got a little different takeaway: Self-regulation doesn’t work. Read More ›
Deadline Extended for G.M. Accident Claims
by Danielle Ivory and Rachel Abrams, The New York Times
Although G.M. has recalled about 16.5 million vehicles this year for ignition-related flaws, the compensation fund relates specifically to a pool of about 2.6 million cars that were recalled starting in February, including models of the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion. Officials at the automaker knew about problems in the cars for more than a decade, but failed to alert regulators and the public until this year. The cars have a defective ignition switch that can suddenly cut off engine power and deactivate airbags. Read More ›
CFPB Stretches Bank Rules to Cover Prepaid Cards, Mobile Payments
by Sheryl Harris, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio)
“Many of these prepaid consumers are living paycheck to paycheck, and are engaged in a constant battle to make ends meet,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray in remarks prepared for a field hearing Thursday. “They are some of the most economically vulnerable among us, and most of them have no idea that the prepaid cards they choose to purchase are largely unregulated.” … Many prepaid card issuers broadened consumer protections and trimmed fees as they came under increased scrutiny from the bureau. Read More ›
More Cracks in Google’s ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Mantra as Data Collection, Political Power Soar
by Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams
The combination of expanding technology and exploding political influence could be dangerous, Public Citizen warns. “Google has essentially responded to concerns about its practices by saying ‘just trust us’,” said Taylor Lincoln, research director of Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division and editor of the report. “But Google is gaining so much power that regulators may find it difficult to act if it turns out that the public’s trust has been misplaced.” Read More ›
Why You Shouldn’t Get a Reverse Mortgage Just Because Fred Thompson Tells You to
by Ashlee Kieler, Consumerist
Reverse mortgages have been found to leave families with debts they can never repay, four-in-five payday loans are made to consumers already caught in the debt trap, and on average 54% of students who attend a for-profit college leave without a degree — with one-in-five of those students defaulting on their loans. … Consumers Union, along with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform provided comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding consumers’ use of reverse mortgages. Read More ›
CFC Addresses Benefits and Risks of Driverless Cars
Noting that the technology could reduce accidents if it’s widely adopted, CFC Executive Director Richard Holober stressed the need to ensure that any savings get passed along to consumers under Proposition 103. He also cited concerns about who would have access to data from the vehicles, and of possible meddling by hackers. Read More ›
Americans Say They Want Privacy, but Act as if They Don’t
by Claire Cain Miller, The New York Times
Pew offered some evidence that people are inured to the trade-offs of using digital services: Ninety-one percent agree or strongly agree that consumers have lost control over how their personal information is collected or used by companies. They are unsure what to do about it, though. Nearly two-thirds say they would like to do more to protect the privacy of their personal information online. About the same number think the government should do more to protect them. Read More ›
California’s Strawberry Industry Is Hooked on Dangerous Pesticides
by Bernice Yeung, Kendall Taggart and Andrew Donohue, Center for Investigative Reporting
Growers rely on heavy amounts of some of the most dangerous pesticides – a class called fumigants – to deliver the fruit year-round at an affordable price for consumers. Because strawberries like to grow where people like to live, in the perpetual spring of coastal California, growers often use the pesticides near schools, homes and businesses. … Nearly a decade after the pesticide was supposed to be banned, the state’s strawberry growers have staved off the deadline by warning of financial ruin. Today, they use about 90 percent of all the methyl bromide in the developed world. Read More ›
GM Ordered Switches Nearly 2 Months Before Recall
by Tom Krisher, The Associated Press
The switches can slip out of the run position, causing engines in cars such as the Chevrolet Cobalt to stall. If that happens, the power steering, brakes and air bags are disabled, and people can lose control of their cars. GM eventually recalled 2.6 million small cars for the problem, which has caused at least 32 deaths. The emails in the chain, which run from December into February, call the matter “urgent” and eventually use the words “safety issue.” Read More ›