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The collection of all scholarly commentary on law, economics, and more

Showing archive for:  “CFPB”

The CFPB’s Misleading Slant on Competition in Credit-Card Markets

In yet another example of interagency cheerleading from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Chair Lina Khan recently touted the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on payments networks: New @CFPB research reveals that large banks are offering worse credit card terms & interest rates than small banks and credit unions, regardless of credit ... The CFPB’s Misleading Slant on Competition in Credit-Card Markets

The Biden Executive Order on AI: A Recipe for Anticompetitive Overregulation

The Biden administration’s Oct. 30 “Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” proposes to “govern… the development and use of AI safely and responsibly” by “advancing a coordinated, Federal Government-wide approach to doing so.” (Emphasis added.) This “all-of-government approach,” which echoes the all-of-government approach of the 2021 “Executive ... The Biden Executive Order on AI: A Recipe for Anticompetitive Overregulation

Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: The Cat’s Tuches of Summer Edition

I had thought we were in the dog days of summer, but the Farmer’s Almanac tells me that I was wrong about that. It turns out that the phrase refers to certain specific dates on the calendar, not just to the hot and steamy days that descend on the nation’s capital in . . . ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: The Cat’s Tuches of Summer Edition

Four Horsemen of the Bureaucratic Apocalypse Come for AI

Four prominent horsemen of the Biden administration’s bureaucratic apocalypse—the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) Civil Rights Division (DOJ), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)—came together April 25 to issue a joint statement pledging vigorous enforcement against illegal activity perpetrated through the use of artificial intelligence ... Four Horsemen of the Bureaucratic Apocalypse Come for AI

FTC UMC Roundup – Independence Day Week Edition

Happy Independence Day Week! Having started off with the holiday, this has been a relatively slow week on the antitrust front in the United States. But never fear, Europe is here to help fill out the weekly news roundup. And, even on a slow week there is plenty in the news domestically. Perhaps more important: ... FTC UMC Roundup – Independence Day Week Edition

FTC UMC Roundup – OT22 Edition

Fireworks came a bit early this year. Between the Supreme Court’s end-of-term decisions and this week’s January 6th Committee hearings, it wasn’t a week with much antitrust news coming out of either the FTC or Congress. But the Supreme Court’s made sure to keep things exciting: the opinion in West Virginia v. EPA case will ... FTC UMC Roundup – OT22 Edition

Congressional Review Act Should Be Used to Strike Down Ill-Advised CFPB Arbitration Rule

On July 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a new rule to ban financial service providers, such as banks or credit card companies, from using mandatory arbitration clauses to deny consumers the opportunity to participate in a class action (“Arbitration Rule”).  The Arbitration Rule’s summary explains: First, the final rule prohibits covered providers ... Congressional Review Act Should Be Used to Strike Down Ill-Advised CFPB Arbitration Rule

Why the Federal Trade Commission (not the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) Should Oversee Consumer Protection in Financial Markets

On February 28, the Heritage Foundation released Prosperity Unleashed:  Smarter Financial Regulation, a Report that lays bare the heavy and unnecessary burdens imposed on our economy by defective financial regulations, and proposed market-oriented regulatory reforms that would benefit American producers, consumers, and the overall economy.  In a recent Truth on the Market blog commentary, I ... Why the Federal Trade Commission (not the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) Should Oversee Consumer Protection in Financial Markets

Unleashing Prosperity through Smarter Financial Regulation

On February 28, the Heritage Foundation issued a volume of essays by leading scholars on the law and economics of financial services regulatory reform entitled Prosperity Unleashed:  Smarter Financial Regulation.  This Report, which is well worth a read (in particular, by incoming Trump Administration officials and Members of Congress), is available online. The Report’s 23 ... Unleashing Prosperity through Smarter Financial Regulation

An FCC ban on arbitration of privacy claims would be the anti-consumer-protection approach

Over the weekend, Senator Al Franken and FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn issued an impassioned statement calling for the FCC to thwart the use of mandatory arbitration clauses in ISPs’ consumer service agreements — starting with a ban on mandatory arbitration of privacy claims in the Chairman’s proposed privacy rules. Unfortunately, their call to arms rests ... An FCC ban on arbitration of privacy claims would be the anti-consumer-protection approach

Time to Repeal the FTC’s Common Carrier Jurisdictional Exemption (Among Other Things)?

Section 5(a)(2) of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act authorizes the FTC to “prevent persons, partnerships, or corporations, except . . . common carriers subject to the Acts to regulate commerce . . . from using unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.”  ... Time to Repeal the FTC’s Common Carrier Jurisdictional Exemption (Among Other Things)?

The Constitutionally-Challenged Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Now Directly Challenges the Lawful and Welfare-Enhancing Pay-Day Lending Industry

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is, to say the least, a controversial agency.  As documented by such experts as Scalia Law School Professor Todd Zywicki, the CFPB imposes enormous costs on consumers and financial service providers through costly and unwarranted command-and-control regulation.  Furthermore, as I explained in a February 2016 Heritage Foundation legal memorandum, ... The Constitutionally-Challenged Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Now Directly Challenges the Lawful and Welfare-Enhancing Pay-Day Lending Industry