LifeSmarts announces partnership with Discover® Student Loans  

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Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

During Financial Literacy Month, LifeSmarts teen consumer literacy program has introduced a new lesson focused on financing a college education and understanding student loans.

March 31, 2022

Washington, DC– The 28th National LifeSmarts Championship is on the horizon for the National Consumers League’s (NCL) youth consumer education program. Through LifeSmarts students learn about real-life consumer issues and compete to win prizes and scholarships at the National LifeSmarts Championship in April each year. Tomorrow, April 1, is the start of Financial Literacy Month. To commemorate this month, NCL is proud to announce a new lesson about financing a college education, made possible through financial support from Discover Student Loans.

On April 21, 39 teams from across the country will meet in Washington, DC, to compete in the 2022 National LifeSmarts Championship.  The Championship competition takes place over four days in which students will showcase their knowledge of personal finance topics as well as consumer rights, technology and workforce preparation, health and safety, and the environment.

Thanks to Discover Student Loans, LifeSmarts has created a new lesson on financial aid, with questions that will be featured in the National Championship. In the fall, the lessons and new competition focus will be fully integrated into the program for the new school year. Students and educators will see a concentration on personal finance topics at both the 2022 and 2023 National LifeSmarts Championships.

“We are so pleased to work with Discover Student Loans to help our students learn more about the important subject of paying for post-secondary education,” said National Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “We know LifeSmarts gives students the skills they need to succeed as adults, and we see students applying what they learn immediately at home and in their communities. We are thrilled to be able to give special focus to the most crucial lessons in personal finance, and we look forward to rolling out new resources for educators and opportunities for student participants.”

Last year, students answered more than 3.5 million consumer questions about credit reports, nutrition, social media, and everything in between. More than 100,000 students will participate this year.

LifeSmarts is active in all states and the District of Columbia, where NCL is headquartered. “We are excited to have the opportunity to focus on personal finance for consumers at this age, when they are beginning to make decisions for themselves and influencing decisions made by their parents,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of NCL. “Too often, traditional high school curriculum fails to teach students vital information to become successful adults, and LifeSmarts helps to close that gap.”

“It’s important that students and their families plan and save for college expenses, pursue free financial aid such as grants and scholarships, and understand the options for federal and private student loans,” said PK Parekh, senior vice president of Discover Student Loans. “We are very happy to work with LifeSmarts to help students learn through real-world lessons about personal finance, financial aid, and responsible borrowing.”

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About LifeSmarts

LifeSmarts is a comprehensive consumer education program that is free to middle school and high school students and educators. The goal of the LifeSmarts program is to create consumer savvy young people who will be better equipped for adult life in today’s complex, global marketplace. Visit LifeSmarts.org for more information. LifeSmarts: Learn it. Live it.

About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit https://nclnet.org.

NCL applauds federal funding for maternal health in 2022 appropriations

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March 18, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League –  Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC— The National Consumers League applauds the passage of the 2022 omnibus appropriations act. The appropriations bill, signed into law, includes over $1 billion in federal funding to support critical maternal health provisions needed to address the nation’s alarming maternal mortality rates.

We are pleased that many provisions of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021 were included in the FY 2022 appropriations bill. The new law provides a significant increase in funding for the CDC’s safe motherhood & infant health programs. This additional support will help to identify drivers of maternal death rates in the states and expand evidence-based programs and interventions at hospitals and birthing facilities across the nation. The bill also includes a significant funding increase to the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant, which will assist state and local health entities in providing the essential health and social services that our most vulnerable birthing people and babies need.

Provisions from the Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act were also included in the fiscal year 2022 omnibus appropriations bill. These provisions provide funding that supports health professional schools to train future health care professionals about perceptions and biases in maternal health, which currently contribute to inequities in maternal health outcomes. In addition to racial bias, it is critical to invest in diversifying and expanding the perinatal workforce to include nurses, doulas, behavioral health professionals, and other practitioners. In a recent blog post, NCL Health Policy Associate Milena Berhane discusses the importance of diversifying the workforce and the negative impacts of racial bias on the quality of care for racial and ethnic minorities.

We recognize that perinatal suicides, which occur during pregnancy or up to one year postpartum, are a leading cause of maternal mortality in the United States. We are pleased that this appropriations act provides increased federal funding for maternal mental health programs. The additional funding will be critical in expanding access to community-based treatment and recovery services for pregnant people and new mothers who struggle with mental health or behavioral health conditions. The spending bill also funds additional necessary mental health resources, by increasing funding for the 24/7 maternal mental health hotline that is available to pregnant people and new mothers.

NCL applauds Congress for providing funding for critical maternal health provisions within the FY22 Omnibus bill. We will continue to advocate for the passage of additional maternal health provisions in future legislation and spending bills until we end the maternal mortality crisis in our nation.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

National Consumers League joins LGBTQ+ coalitions to address credit issues for transgender and nonbinary community

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March 17, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League –  Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC— The National Consumers League has joined efforts with LGBTQ, consumer, and legal advocacy groups to address credit-related problems encountered by transgender and nonbinary consumers.

The letter  to the major credit reporting companies, notes that transgender and nonbinary consumers face a myriad of issues after they change their names — with serious consequences for their financial and personal lives. The transgender and nonbinary community have reported to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that they cannot get Experian, Equifax and TransUnion to correct their credit reports.

Some issues reported are that their credit report fragments into two or more unconnected files upon their name change or are not there at all. Many times their credit scores drop by hundreds of points, precluding them from accessing banking services, mortgages, auto financing, employment, and rental housing. Transgender and nonbinary consumers find that even when they were able to contact and persuade a customer service representative at one of the Big Three credit bureaus to manually fix their report, a new upload of data reverts their credit histories back to fragmented or incomplete files. Some have even reported serious fallout after their credit histories reflected their “deadname” or former name, thereby outing them as transgender to potential employers, rental agents, car dealerships, or financial institutions.

The letter asks the credit reporting industry to:

  • Utilize consumers’ full 9-digit Social Security numbers in matching algorithms to ensure credit information is associated with the correct credit file.
  • Facilitate name changes by having clear procedures to update a consumer’s name on their credit report when presented with a legal name change order and ensure that staff are sufficiently trained in those procedures and are able to provide culturally competent service to transgender and nonbinary consumers.
  • Reduce the burden on transgender and nonbinary consumers to submit name-change documentation to each credit reporting agency by instituting a “one-stop” system that allows a consumer to submit a single request to have the legal name on their report updated, and ensures the request is communicated to all consumer reporting agencies.
  • Prevent the occurrence and recurrence of fragmented credit files by creating procedures to detect when a consumer changes their legal name with a creditor, to associate the new name with their credit file, and to consolidate a consumer’s credit information in their current and previous names in a single credit file — as the industry presently does when cisgender women and other consumers change their last names.
  • Prevent the disclosure of transgender and nonbinary consumers’ deadnames to landlords, employers, and underwriters by disclosing only a consumer’s current legal name in reports provided to credit report users.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL leads effort to encourage FDA to adopt safer standards for OTC hearing aids

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March 10, 2022 

Media Contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832 

Washington, DC – Today, National Consumers League (NCL), along with 29 not-for-profit, public health organizations from across the country, sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the agency’s ongoing process to establish regulations that will soon allow hearing aids intended for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss to be sold over-the-counter (OTC) without any involvement of a medical professional. As the FDA finishes developing its final OTC hearing aid regulation, we urge the agency to include stronger measures to better protect consumers affected by this new category of medical devices.  

We applaud the FDA for its efforts to provide increased access and affordability through the creation of this new category of hearing aids. At the same time, the FDA must ensure these devices are safe, particularly given that many consumers will purchase OTC hearing aids without knowing their clinical level of hearing loss and not having any support from a medical professional. In addition to hearing loss, many OTC hearing aid users may also have other medical challenges impeding their ability to recognize and/or react to loud or uncomfortable sounds produced by these hearing aids. Under such circumstances, the need to ensure OTC hearing aids fulfill their intended purpose without risking unintended harm cannot be understated. 

The letter states: “To ensure the safety of consumers, we believe the FDA should implement the recommendations of the nation’s leading associations of hearing care professionals, including the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, American Academy of Audiology, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and International Hearing Society. These associations are urging the FDA to lower the maximum sound output to 110 decibels and establish an amplification (or gain) limit of 25 decibels. These associations, as well as respected entities like the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have made clear that allowing sounds to enter the ears of consumers at the proposed levels can cause serious and permanent hearing damage within mere seconds.” 

Importantly, these recommendations will not have any impact on the FDA’s goal of providing increased access to affordable hearing devices, compromise the effectiveness of OTC hearing aids, or discourage innovation—they will only make them sufficiently safe for consumers with mild to moderate hearing loss.  

Read the full letter HERE. Learn more about the issue here: OTC Hearing Aids- Gain and Output 

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

 

NCL testimony before ACIP on crucial vaccines

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February 24, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—Today, February 24, 2022, NCL submitted comments to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in support of new recommendations for the influenza, pneumococcal, and tick-borne encephalitis vaccines. NCL comments appear below.

February 24, 2022
Grace M. Lee, MD, MPH, Chair
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road, N.E., Mailstop A27
Atlanta, GA 30329-4027

RE: Docket No. CDC-2022-0015

Dear Chairwoman:

Founded in 1899 by the renowned social reformer Florence Kelley, the National Consumers League (NCL) has long championed vaccines as lifesaving medical interventions. General Secretary Kelley’s support of vaccinations played a key part in mitigating a critical smallpox outbreak towards the end of the 19th century, and her stalwart advocacy for immunizations has informed NCL’s bedrock principles for increased access and vaccine confidence. 122 years later, we are honored to persist in our fight to protect consumers from vaccine preventable illnesses and we extend our gratitude to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the opportunity to present public comment.

Tick-borne Encephalitis (TBE) Vaccine

During the pandemic, Americans are spending more time in nature and participating in outdoor activities. The majority of TBE virus infections are acquired in forested areas through activities such as camping, hiking, fishing, and bicycling; and case numbers peak when ticks are most active, during early and late summer. In addition, incidence rates and severity of disease are highest in people aged ≥50 years.

NCL applauds the FDA for its approval of Pfizer’s TBE vaccine last year as an important step in making a vaccine more accessible for TBE, and preventing illness from tick bites. It is critical that access to this vaccine is expanded so that individuals and families feel safe and protected from TBE when outdoors. Being that there is no specific treatment for TBE, the preventive measure of vaccination is a significant means for keeping Americans healthy.

Pneumococcal Vaccine

While we are encouraged that ACIP recommendations increase access to the pneumococcal vaccine for adults ages 19-64 with underlying health conditions, we were disappointed that ACIP did not lower the overall age recommendation to include adults aged 50 and older. Moreover, there is a lot of confusion about which vaccine or combination of vaccines is needed for complete immunization. Confusion about the pneumococcal vaccine can cause vaccine hesitancy among patients, and makes it difficult for providers to make informed decisions for their patients. We would like the CDC to provide clearer recommendations to help increase the rate of vaccine uptake; including physician and patient education. NCL will continue to encourage consumers to ask their healthcare provider about being fully protected against pneumococcal disease.

Influenza Vaccine

Protecting older adults from influenza is now critically important as COVID-19 continues to plague the nation. We are pleased that ACIP is considering recommendations for preferential use of enhanced seasonal influenza vaccines (e.g., high-dose, adjuvant, and recombinant) over standard vaccines in adults aged 65 and older. Updating decades old recommendations will prevent hundreds of thousands of outpatient/ER visits, hospitalizations, and deaths due to influenza each winter. During the 2018-2019 flu season, an estimated 35.5 million people got sick with influenza and 34,200 people died.

Because of the pandemic, more Americans have come to understand how vaccines work and value the protection that they offer to prevent infectious disease. However, millions of people have missed their routine shots during the shutdown. It is important that we seize this moment to educate consumers about their recommended immunizations across lifespan. NCL will continue working to ensure equitable access to vaccines and instill vaccine confidence in consumers. We look forward to clear recommendations by ACIP on the use of vaccines. We appreciate your consideration of our views on this important public health topic.

Sincerely,

Jeanette Contreras, MPP
NCL Director of Health Policy
National Consumers League

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

 

NCL applauds the Senate for confirming Dr. Robert Califf as FDA commissioner

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February 15, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—Today the nation’s pioneering consumer advocacy group is welcoming news from the Senate that Dr. Robert Califf has been confirmed to serve as the next commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

The following quote can be attributed to NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg: 

“Califf gained the trust of the nation during his previous term as Commissioner of the FDA and is all the better prepared to step into this role to get up to speed quickly.  

“We look forward to continuing our work with the FDA under Califf’s leadership to ensure equitable access to vaccines and novel therapeutics to improve the health of consumers regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender. Today, consumers have a better understanding of what the FDA does to make their lives safer and healthier on a daily basis. We support the role of the FDA as a regulator and look forward to seeing further enforcement from the agency to ensure accurate labeling of ingredients and warnings on products sold in the marketplace.

“NCL frequently engages with the FDA to ensure consumer access to safe and effective medicines, foods, and medical devices. We appreciate the leadership Janet Woodcock has provided the agency as acting commissioner during this incredibly tumultuous time for our nation.”

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

 

NCL applauds House vote to extend protections to consumers and workers by passing the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act

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February 11, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL), with a 120+ year old mission to champion the interests of workers and consumers, is applauding the House of Representatives’ action to overwhelmingly pass the bipartisan bill H.R. 4445, the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021.”

The FAIR Act, passed with a 335-97 vote, creates a rare opportunity for employment legislation to pass Congress. The Senate is expected to pass the bill, and President Joe Biden has promised to sign it into law.

“I attended the press conference in 2017 where this bill was first introduced in the Senate. It was a powerful experience to stand with former Fox News Host Gretchen Carlson and then-Senator Al Franken (D-MN), the bill’s sponsor, and to hear her describe the sexual harassment she endured at Fox News and the forced arbitration language she had to sign when she joined the company Five years later, it’s exciting to see this bill pass the House and move on to the Senate,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL’s executive director.

“This is a groundbreaking bill and a big win for people like Carlson, who are simply seeking their day in court,” said Greenberg. NCL joined a coalition of organizations that urged lawmakers to approve the legislation and has supported the rights of consumers, workers, and small businesses to be free from forced arbitration clauses, calling for passage of the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act.

H.R. 4445 upholds the right of those who have experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment in their workplace to hold the abusers accountable in court, rather than being sent to a closed-door arbitration forum often controlled by the employer or company.

“We believe the strong bipartisan support for this bill shows a clear recognition that forced arbitration is fundamentally unfair, hopefully signally a path to ending forced arbitration once and for all,” said Greenberg.

Forced arbitration provisions are ubiquitous in the fine print of contracts as a pre-condition for obtaining basic products and services such as a credit card, bank loan, apartment lease, or mobile phone. Arbitration is a skewed process, and fundamentally undemocratic because the law does not apply, there is no right of appeal, and the outcome is secret. The arbitrator, too often chosen by the corporation, is likely to heed the interests of the company in hopes of repeat business. And too often companies can dictate where the arbitration will take place, what the rules will be, and how the costs will be borne.

As a reference point, Consumer Reports reviewed consumer products in the most popular product categories it rates – and in two additional categories where safety is a paramount concern, bike helmets and child car seats – and published its findings in 2020. Of the 117 brand/category combinations examined, 60 percent included arbitration clauses. 

Under the FAIR Act, introduced by Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), companies would be prohibited from requiring consumers, workers, and small family businesses to give up fundamental legal protections as a precondition for obtaining a product, service, or job. Once a dispute actually arises, and the stakes are clear, consumers, workers, or family businesses could choose arbitration if they determine it to be a better option than the courts.

“If — as so many businesses argue in support of arbitration — it is a process that is more favorable to consumers, then they will voluntarily choose it,” said Greenberg. “But never should arbitration be a consumer’s only choice. We applaud the House, the Senate and President Biden for their support of this landmark legislation.”

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

 

New We Can Do This! podcast episode featuring conversation with feminist Karen Mulhauser tackles reproductive rights, women’s history, and today’s challenges

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For immediate release: February 9, 2022
Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering worker and consumer advocacy organization, has released “A woman’s right to choose: Equal access to health care threatened,” a new episode in its  We Can Do This! podcast series. Hosted by NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg, the episode features a conversation with Karen Mulhauser, longstanding champion for women’s rights. Mulhauser served as the first appointed executive director of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) in 1974, shortly after the 1973 Roe v. Wade case was decided by the Supreme Court, securing the right to abortion. After leading NARAL, Mulhauser’s work took many directions, including empowering women to register and vote, and the founding of Every Woman Vote 2020.

“With NCL’s long history in advocacy for safe, effective access to health care, we welcome Karen Mulhauser’s perspective on the historical fight for a woman’s right to choose. Mulhauser gives us an intimate view into why these protections are so important and so fragile,” said Greenberg.

An excerpt of Karen’s interview: “One in three women have an abortion. … My story is one that when I was in college and got pregnant unintentionally, I self-induced, and for decades I didn’t talk about that. But part of what I think needs to happen is that people have to tell their stories. … We are losing our democracy, and that’s why I’m building a voter initiative for this. In my long years of life, this is the most important election of my life. And I want to do whatever I can to mobilize as many people as possible.”

This episode contains sensitive topics. Listener discretion is advised.

This episode is now available on nclnet.org and on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

NCL’s We Can Do This! Podcast | Episode 16 

“A woman’s right to choose: Equal access to health care threatened”

Episode description: The National Consumers League believes in equal health care access for all, and that includes a woman’s right to choose. With the looming possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned and new laws adopted in states around the country restricting women’s access to abortion and other reproductive services, we sat down with pioneering abortion rights champion  — Karen Mulhauser  — NARAL’s first Executive Director, for a historical perspective on abortion. Mulhauser discusses her personal story, political organizing and her work to secure rights and protections for women.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org. 

NCL calls for Spotify removal of Joe Rogan episodes that contain harmful misinformation

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Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242

Washington, DC—Today, February 5, 2022, the National Consumers League sent a letter to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek to call for the removal of episodes of Joe Rogan’s podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” that contain demonstrably harmful misinformation related to masks, vaccines, and other public health measures. The text of the letter appears below.

February 5, 2022

Daniel Ek
Chief Executive Officer
Spotify USA Inc
150 Greenwich Street, 62nd Floor
New York, NY 10007

RE: COVID-19 misinformation on The Joe Rogan Experience

Dear Daniel Ek:

Since late 2020, highly effective mRNA vaccines have been accessible for free to the general public. Despite this, millions of Americans remain unvaccinated, which has been a major contributing factor to the deaths of nearly 900,000 Americans during the pandemic.[1] Spotify has a civic responsibility to do everything in its power to help prevent future COVID-19 deaths—including (but not limited to) removing episodes of Joe Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, that contain demonstrably harmful misinformation related to masks, vaccines, and other public health measures.

The National Consumers League (NCL), which I lead, has worked hard to combat COVID-19 misinformation.[2] Guided for more than a century by the legacy of our first General Secretary, Florence Kelley, NCL has championed vaccines as lifesaving medical interventions. General Secretary Kelley’s support for inoculations played a key part in mitigating a critical smallpox outbreak at the end of the 19th century and her stalwart advocacy for immunizations has informed NCL’s efforts to increase access to and confidence in vaccines for more than 120 years. Recently, we demanded that the Small Business Administration (SBA) rescind Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds that were granted to anti-vaccine groups.[3]

On episode #1639 of his podcast, Rogan recommended that young people not get the vaccine, stating “if you’re like 21 years old, and you say to me, should I get vaccinated? I’ll go no.”[4] On episode #1737, Rogan stated, “they’re trying to say that children need it when they don’t. They don’t need it.”[5] This is but one of many instances of Rogan making statements on his podcast that are clearly misinformation. Data from the CDC shows that over 6,000 individuals under the age of 30 have died from COVID-19 to date.[6] Just last month, almost 800 children under the age of 18 were hospitalized with COVID-19 daily, with young adults’ hospitalization rates being nearly double that number.[7] Unfortunately, Rogan’s harmful rhetoric is not limited to just episodes #1639 and #1737; The Joe Rogan Experience has a long and well-documented history of spreading misinformation that clearly violated Spotify’s Platform Rules.[8]

Spotify’s Platform Rules state that “[c]ontent that promotes dangerous false or dangerous deceptive medial information that may cause offline harm or poses a direct threat to public health,” is prohibited on the platform. The Platform Rules further state that violation of these rules may result in violating content being removed by Spotify and the content publisher’s account suspended.[9] Spotify does not appear to have applied its Platform Rules regarding COVID-19 misinformation to The Joe Rogan Experience despite the fact that the platform has removed 20,000 episodes on other podcasts for containing false claims related to COVID-19.[10] We urge Spotify to enforce its COVID-19 Platform Rules consistently, regardless of who the content creator may be.

Spotify’s failure to police The Joe Rogan Experience, creates serious, and potentially deadly risks for his listeners. Research shows that misinformation has a tangible impact on individuals’ willingness to take measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection and transmission. For example, being exposed to false claims reduced vaccination intent by 6.2 percentage points.[11] Another study showed that misinformation led to a decline in individuals’ reception to authentic COVID-19 health guidance.[12] Given the platform’s massive reach, Spotify is uniquely positioned to help protect its hundreds of millions of users from the harm that flows from incorrect statements, false claims, and lies promulgated on the streaming service.[13]

As Spotify’s most popular podcast, Joe Rogan’s audience includes millions of listeners who view him as a trusted source of information, even when his claims are nonfactual and unfounded.[14] Compared to the $0.0032 per stream rate that Spotify reportedly pays other content creators on the platform,[15] Spotify has clearly decided to make a major investment in The Joe Rogan Experience. I understand that Spotify is a commercial business and not a charitable organization. Still, NCL believes that when the world’s largest digital service provider invests $100 million in an endeavor, the results should better the common good—rather than contribute to the world’s most pressing public health crisis.

We urge you to take action and remove episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience which violate Spotify’s COVID-19 Platform Rules.

Sincerely,

Sally Greenberg
Executive Director
National Consumers League
email: sallyg@nclnet.org

 

cc:       Regan Smith, Head of Public Policy, Government Affairs, Spotify

[1] Note: Unvaccinated persons had 53.2 times the risk for COVID-19 associated death compared with fully vaccinated and boosted individuals. Johnson AG, Amin AB, Ali AR, et al. COVID-19 Incidence and Death Rates Among Unvaccinated and Fully Vaccinated Adults with and Without Booster Doses During Periods of Delta and Omicron Variant Emergence — 25 U.S. Jurisdictions, April 4–December 25, 2021. (2022). MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 71, 132–138. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7104e2

[2] National Consumers League. Get the facts on the COVID-19 vaccine. (2021). https://nclnet.org/vaccines

[3] National Consumers League. No PPP for anti-vaxxers! (2021). https://nclnet.org/ppp_antivaxx/

[4] #1639 – Dave Smith. The Joe Rogan Experience. (2021). https://open.spotify.com/episode/7taqki4fGUkcXESbaUzjgh?si=4VNiaS32TKCiLILuTXiv0Q

[5] #1737- Tim Pool. The Joe Rogan Experience. (2021). https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vnRz7xfy27VFTHVeK740V?si=6541c03af7da47fd

[6] Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Provisional Death Counts for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). (2022). https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm#SexAndAge

[7] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID Data Tracker: New Hospital Admissions. (2022). https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#new-hospital-admissions

[8] Paterson, A. Joe Rogan Wrapped: A year of COVID-19 misinformation, right-wing myths, and anti-trans rhetoric. Media Matters. (2021). https://www.mediamatters.org/joe-rogan-experience/joe-rogan-wrapped-year-COVID-19-19-misinformation-right-wing-myths-and-anti-trans

[9] Spotify. Spotify Platform Rules. (2022). https://newsroom.spotify.com/2022-01-30/spotify-platform-rules/

[10] Note: While Spotify has removed at least 40 episodes of the Joe Rogan Experience, those episodes do not appear to have been removed due to violations of the Spotify’s Platform Rules related to COVID-19. (Source: Resnikoff, Paul. “Spotify Has Removed 40 Joe Rogan Episodes To Date — Here’s the Full List.” Digital Music News. (2021). https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/03/30/spotify-joe-rogan-episodes-removed/

[11] Loomba, S., de Figueiredo, A., Piatek, S.J. et al. Measuring the impact of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on vaccination intent in the UK and USA. Nat Hum Behav 5, 337–348 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01056-1

[12] Kim, H. K., Ahn, J., Atkinson, L., & Kahlor, L. A. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 Misinformation on Information Seeking, Avoidance, and Processing: A Multicountry Comparative Study. Science Communication, 42(5), 586–615. https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547020959670

[13] Spotify. About Spotify. (2022). https://newsroom.spotify.com/company-info/

[14] Variety. Joe Rogan Had the No. 1 Podcast in 2021 on Spotify. (2021). https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/joe-rogan-experience-most-popular-podcast-news-roundup-1235123361/

[15] Justice At Spotify. Union of Musicians and Allied Workers. (2022). https://www.unionofmusicians.org/justice-at-spotify

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Testimony at CDC advisory committee on Moderna COVID-19 vaccine approval

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Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242

Washington, DC—Today, February 4, 2022, NCL Health Policy Associate Milena Berhane provided oral testimony to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in support of the approval of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine and pediatric COVID-19 vaccines. Her comments appear below.

February 4, 2022

Thank you, Dr. Lee. My name is Milena Berhane, and today I am representing the National Consumers League. Since NCL’s founding in 1899 by social reformer Florence Kelley, we have advocated for the critical role immunizations play in the preservation and improvement of public health. We extend our gratitude to this Committee for the opportunity to present public comments.

An estimated 890,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 during this pandemic that has persisted in the U.S. for the past two years. The COVID-19 virus continues to threaten the health and safety of many, especially vulnerable populations such as the elderly and immunocompromised groups. The currently available COVID-19 vaccines have worked to save lives, and avoid preventable illness, hospitalizations, and deaths in our communities.

The National Consumers League commends the FDA and the CDC on the approval of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which will continue to be a key tool in the public health response to this pandemic. This vaccine has been, and will continue to be, a safe and effective measure to protecting Americans 18 years of age and older.

America’s families are hopeful that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be granted Emergency Use Approval for children under 5 years of age. Hospitalization of children under 5 years of age has soared, further evidence of the need for expanding vaccine access to children in this age group. Vaccinating children under the age of 5 will protect them from illness, but also protect their families, caretakers, and teachers from contracting COVID-19 as well.

We are also concerned about the widespread drop-in routine childhood immunization rates during the pandemic. According to CDC data released last May, over 11.7 million children have missed doses of their recommended vaccines.  We are particularly worried that our nation’s most vulnerable children, those who qualified for the Vaccines for Children program, are getting caught up at a much slower rate than children with commercial insurance.

The National Consumers League recognizes the extreme importance of immunizations in protecting the health and safety of all Americans, and will continue its efforts to increase vaccine confidence and uptake across lifespan. We look forward to the upcoming recommendations by this committee regarding these COVID-19 vaccines.

Thank you.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.