The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s ruling in favor of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against a company and its owner that provided fee-based scholarship and financial aid services to prospective and current college students.
Posts tagged as “Federal Regulation”
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau increased the maximum civil penalty it can impose within its jurisdiction after Jan. 15, 2023. The increases are mandated by federal law, which requires agencies to adjust for inflation each civil monetary penalty within an agency’s jurisdiction by Jan. 15, 2023.
Last year saw an influx of federal and state regulation aimed at what information must be conveyed to consumers in anticipation of the provision of medical services as well as restrictions on the collection of medical debt. Expect more activity in 2023.
Just a few years ago, the annual review would primarily encompass federal activity. But a shift began in 2018, and by the close of this year, it’s clear there is far more state activity impacting consumer debt collection.
The upward trend in data privacy legislation continued in 2022. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, “[a]t least 35 states and the District of Columbia in 2022 introduced or considered almost 200 consumer privacy bills,” which is a significant increase from 160 bills in 2021.
Continuing with the heavy trend 2022 has seen of both federal and state regulator focus on medical debt coming on the heels of the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate is taking aim at the collection of medical debt.
In a pair of recent enforcement actions, the Federal Trade Commission cracked down on companies with allegedly lax data security measures that resulted in the theft of personal information of millions of consumers.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Oct. 19 held that the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Payday Lending Rule was invalid because it was promulgated using an unconstitutional funding scheme.
Insufficient data protection or information security can violate the prohibition against unfair acts or practices according to a circular released last week by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
On Aug. 11, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking input that will shape potential rules “to crack down on harmful commercial surveillance and lax data security.”
Determining whether your business engages in activities that can trigger coverage is discussed by the Federal Trade Commission in just released guidance entitled “FTC Safeguards Rule: What Your Business Needs to Know.” The Rule applies to many businesses beyond the scope of what are commonly understood to be “financial institutions” and has implications for service providers to covered entities.
Medical debt continues to dominate the headlines in 2022 and continues to be an area of significant focus for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.