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Pause Play? CFPB Gaming-Related Rules on Hold
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February 12, 2025
Pause Play? CFPB Gaming-Related Rules on Hold
By: Michelle Cohen
Newly installed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) Director Russell Vought directed agency staff to stop work on agency matters and stay home. The future of many of the CFPB-led initiatives looks bleak, including a recent interpretive rule proposal that would treat video game publishers like payment processors. Background Congress created the CFPB, an independent federal agency, in 2011 in response to the financial crisis of 2007-08. The agency oversees federal financial consumer protection laws and has jurisdiction over a wide range of entities, including mortgage lenders and brokers, student loan issuers, and other financial institutions. In 2024, the CFPB began to focus on an unlikely target – video game companies. The agency started monitoring developments in the video game industry…
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Death of the CFPB and Impact on Consumer Arbitration
February 11, 2025
Death of the CFPB and Impact on Consumer Arbitration
By: George Calhoun
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has spent years trying to limit provisions that may be placed into consumer contracts, particularly with regard to class-action waivers, arbitration, and damages limitations. In 2015, the CFPB conducted a study of consumer arbitration clauses. Notably, the CFPB’s study found that few class action cases proceed to trial, but in those that do, trial lawyers make $1 million per…
Cancelling Subscriptions Could be Easier, or Maybe Signing Up Will Get Harder
January 15, 2025
Cancelling Subscriptions Could be Easier, or Maybe Signing Up Will Get Harder
By: Jordan Briggs
Drawn in by the appeal of steady revenue, nearly three-quarters of direct-to-consumer companies now include a subscription model.[1] Everything has a subscription these days: video games, groceries, dating apps—you can even subscribe to a service to cancel your other subscriptions.[2] These subscriptions were not deterred from joining their most prominent predecessor (the gym membership) as an age-old punchline about how hard they are to cancel….
California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act Stymied After Federal District Court Ruling
September 27, 2023
California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act Stymied After Federal District Court Ruling
By: Jake Gray
As state legislatures pursue laws directed at online safety and privacy for children, federal courts are striking down their efforts. The latest example is California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (CA-AADC), which a federal judge in the Northern District of California enjoined from enforcement. While larger questions loom about constitutional authority and what is the best way to protect children online, we can glean from the…
District Court Rules that Robots Can’t Hold a Copyright
September 14, 2023
District Court Rules that Robots Can’t Hold a Copyright
By: Abbey Block
If asked to name the greatest artists of all time, you may think of well-known figures such as Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Michelangelo. What do these artists have in common – apart from their creative talent? They’re human. While that answer may seem painfully obvious, the humanity of authorship may not always be a foregone conclusion – particularly in a world where artificial…
Got Endorsers? Federal Trade Commission Issues Updated Advertising Guides
July 10, 2023
Got Endorsers? Federal Trade Commission Issues Updated Advertising Guides
By: Michelle Cohen
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently issued updated “Endorsement Guides.” Guides, last revised in 2009, give businesses guidance on what endorsement practices may be considered “unfair” or “deceptive” under the FTC Act. They also provide the general principles the FTC will use in evaluating endorsements and testimonials. As social media has evolved, the FTC has repeatedly stated that the FTC Act and the agency’s rules…
CFTC Wins Suit Against DAO, With Potential Broad Implications for DAO Ecosystem
June 26, 2023
CFTC Wins Suit Against DAO, With Potential Broad Implications for DAO Ecosystem
By: Jake Gray
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has only brought one lawsuit against a Decentralized Autonomous Organization, or a DAO, which was recently decided in federal court. The case involved a decentralized finance trading protocol “that had transformed into a decentralized autonomous organization, a DAO, offering leveraged and margined retail commodity transactions to the public,” according to CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam.[1] On June 8th, 2023, U.S….
INFORM Consumers Act – Is Your Company Ready for June 27 Compliance?
June 23, 2023
INFORM Consumers Act – Is Your Company Ready for June 27 Compliance?
By: Michelle Cohen
On June 27, 2023, the Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act (the “INFORM Consumers Act”, or “Act”) becomes effective, imposing new obligations on online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. Specifically, the INFORM Consumers Act requires online marketplaces to verify and disclose high-volume third-party sellers’ identities. Congress enacted the law in December 2022 to protect consumers from counterfeit, unsafe, and…