Letter: NCL asks FTC for workshop dedicated to data breaches – National Consumers League

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February 5, 2015

The Honorable Edith Ramirez
Chairwoman
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580

Dear Chairwoman Ramirez:

On behalf of the National Consumers League, America’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, I would like to commend you for the leadership that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shown in protecting the security of consumers’ data. 

As you are aware, however, data breaches continue to affect tens of millions of consumers every year. Negative impacts of these breaches can range from the simple inconvenience of replacing compromised credit cards, to an increased risk of identity theft, to the disclosure of sensitive corporate intellectual property. More remains to be done to safeguard the security of Americans’ personal information. As President Obama made clear in his State of the Union speech “[n]o foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids.” Congress has held numerous hearings, including one today in the Senate Energy & Commerce Committee, that seek solutions to this data security crisis.

Through more than fifty enforcement actions, the FTC has held the caretakers of consumers’ sensitive personal information to account when they fail to adequately protect that data. Since you assumed the chairwomanship in 2013, the FTC has organized several workshops aimed at examining privacy and security implications of emerging technologies such as the “Internet of Things,”[1] mobile devices,[2] and “Big Data.”[3] These important events have done much to build a record of public input that has helped inform the FTC’s work and the actions of businesses and other organizations throughout the country.

Given the success of past FTC workshops and the scope of the data breach problem, we strongly urge the Commission to consider organizing a workshop focused solely on the issue of data beaches. Specifically, we would like this workshop to convene cybersecurity experts, leaders from the consumer advocacy and law enforcement communities and representatives from the retail, banking, credit rating and technology sectors. The goal of such a workshop should be to create a record that the Commission can use to understand how well existing voluntary guidelines, self-regulatory regimes and cybersecurity technologies are working to protect consumer data. The event would also assist the Commission to develop guidance for businesses and other entities on how comply with Section 5 of the FTC Act by better protecting their customers’ data.

I look forward to continuing to work with the FTC as it moves forward on its important data security agenda. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at your convenience. 

Kind regards,

Sally Greenberg
Executive Director
National Consumers League 

cc: The Honorable Julie Brill
The Honorable Terrell McSweeny
The Honorable Maureen K. Ohlhausen
The Honorable John Thune
The Honorable Joshua D. Wright

[1] Federal Trade Commission. “FTC Seeks Input on Privacy and Security Implications of the Internet of Things,” Press Release. April 17, 2013. Online: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2013/04/ftc-seeks-input-privacy-and-security-implications-internet-things

[2] Federal Trade Commission. “FTC to Host Public Forum on Threats to Mobile Devices on June 4,” Press Release. February 22, 2013. Online: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2013/02/ftc-host-public-forum-threats-mobile-devices-june-4

[3] Federal Trade Commission. “FTC to Examine Effects of Big Data on Low Income and Underserved Consumers at September Workshop,” Press Release. April 11, 2014. Online: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2014/04/ftc-examine-effects-big-data-low-income-underserved-consumers

Group condemns defeat of child labor tobacco bill in VA – National Consumers League

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February 4, 2015

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL) is deeply disappointed in the defeat of a Virginia State Legislature bill that would have been the first of its kind to protect children from working in dangerous tobacco fields. “This takes us back a century ago when children in America were working in mines, factories, and mills. The reactionary forces fought protections for kids back then, just as they are doing today,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League (NCL) and co-chair of the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), which NCL co-founded 25 years ago. “It’s just as intolerable to expose kids to these toxics today as it was in 1915.” 

The bill (HB 1906), introduced last month by Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington), was defeated yesterday in the Republican-controlled Committee on Commerce and Labor. HB 1906 would have made it illegal for children, other than the members of a farmer’s own family, from harvesting tobacco. Recent reports of children being sickened by acute nicotine poisoning in tobacco fields battling nausea, headaches, vomiting, and dizziness have sparked a national movement to ban this practice.

“It is our obligation to protect our most vulnerable workers. It is very disappointing to see Virginia lawmakers cave to big tobacco interests and defeat this common-sense child labor protection,” said Reid Maki, Director, Child Labor Issues at NCL and Coordinator, Child Labor Coalition. “We will continue to ask lawmakers at both the federal and state levels to ban child labor in U.S. tobacco fields.”

Lopez’s bill would have prohibited farmers from hiring anyone under 18 to work in direct contact with tobacco leaves. HB 1906 would have been the first legislation of its kind in a state that harvests tobacco. In Virginia, it would preempt some of the outdated Fair Labor Standards Act provisions that allow children as young as 12 to work unlimited hours on farms performing the dangerous work.

“Young children should not be working in direct contact with tobacco. They are especially vulnerable to nicotine poisoning due to their size and stage of development. Indeed, a recent report from the surgeon general suggests that nicotine exposure during adolescence may have lasting negative consequences,” said Del. Lopez in a press release.

For more on this issue, click here.

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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.

 

Group praises NY investigation revealing ‘outrageous’ mislabeling of supplements at major national retailers – National Consumers League

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February 3, 2015

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL) applauds Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for his aggressive investigation of adulterated and fraudulent dietary supplements sold on the private labels of four major national retailers—GNC Target, Walmart, and Walgreens. The investigation revealed that supplements were mislabeled, some of which contained none of the ingredients they were marketed to contain. The investigation included 390 tests involving 78 samples, and found that just 21 percent of tested supplements identified DNA from plant species listed on the label.

“Hats off to the New York Attorney General for exposing this rampant consumer fraud. Americans are wasting millions of dollars on supplements that claim to contain ‘healthful’ ingredients when they do nothing of the kind,“ said Sally Greenberg, NCL’s executive director. Consumers must be able to trust the list of ingredients on the bottle; sadly, this testing reveals that information is far from reliable. Among other concerns, the millions of consumers with allergies may be in grave danger if ingredients are not listed on the label.”

NCL, the nation’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, advocated for the passage of the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906, the first significant consumer protection law, and continues to fight for a safe marketplace free of adulterated food.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires drugs to meet stringent regulations for safety and efficacy before they hit the market, dietary supplements are free of any such requirements.  Congress enacted legislation preventing the FDA from protecting consumers from harmful supplements and rejected any pre-approval process. As a result, the FDA must demonstrate that a product is unsafe before removing it. NCL supports legislation that would bring stronger oversight to the dietary supplements industry. 

The New York AG investigation found that 35 percent of supplements tested contained ingredients not on the label, including rice, beans, citrus, asparagus, wheat, houseplants, and others. The supplement industry contributes $61 billion to the U.S. economy, according to the Natural Products Foundation. Supplements are consumed by an estimated 150 million Americans, according to a 2013 study from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

“Dietary supplements have gained such mainstream popularity that they are a part of everyday life for millions of consumers,” said Rebecca Burkholder, NCL’s vice president of health policy. “Manufacturers and retailers must be held accountable for the aggressive, and at times, misleading promotion of these products. We welcome investigations such as Attorney General Schneiderman’s, and we call on the Federal Trade Commission to prosecute companies that are found to be selling bogus products to consumers in the name of health.”

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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.

Consumer group praises Obama proposal to streamline fed’s role in food safety – National Consumers League

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February 3, 2015

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC – America’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy group is praising President Obama’s new proposal for the creation of a new federal agency solely focused on food safety in his Fiscal Year 2016 Budget. The announcement comes on the heels of similar legislation proposed by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) last week called The Safe Food Act of 2015.  Both seek to consolidate parts of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration, ultimately streamlining inspections and eliminating unnecessary overlap. 

“Our current food systems are redundant and fragmented,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League.  “Consolidating USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service and FDA’s food safety oversight will ensure cohesive practices and superior response times in the event of an outbreak, ultimately keeping consumers and our food supply safer.  We urge Congress to support the creation of a new food safety agency.”

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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.

Consumer group responds to introduction of asbestos legislation, HR 526 – National Consumers League

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January 29, 2015

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC—Upon the reintroduction of the Furthering Asbestos Claims Transparency Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 526, which purports to reduce fraud in the asbestos bankruptcy trust system through increased transparency, National Consumers League Executive Director Sally Greenberg has issued the following statement:

“The FACT Act of 2015 is a misguided attempt to derail the important work of the asbestos bankruptcy fund. This bill, if passed, would put the burden on some of the most vulnerable Americans—victims of asbestos-related illnesses—in their quest to achieve fair settlements for harms made against them. The FACT Act would unfairly give insurers the upper hand regarding asbestos claims and that is wrong. We urge Congress to stop this bill in its tracks.” 

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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.

NCL partners with Intuit Tax & Financial Center, Technology Policy Institute, and The Atlantic to examine consumer impact of tax identity theft – National Consumers League

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January 29, 2015

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, in partnership with The Atlantic, Intuit Tax & Financial Center, and the Technology Policy Institute will today convene a gathering of leading experts in Washington to discuss the harm that tax identity fraud wreaks on consumers nationwide every year.

The event, “The Fight Against Fraud: Solving a $5 Billion Tax Challenge,” comes on the heels of a Federal Trade Commission report that tax-related identity theft was the most common form of identity theft reported to Commission in 2014. It also follows an earlier NCL analysis of FTC complaint data that found government documents or benefits fraud is by far the largest and fastest-growing category of identity theft complaints, increasing from 19.2% of identity theft complaints in 2010 to 46.4% in 2012. Tax or wage-related fraud complaints made up 93.5% of this category, up from 81.3% in 2010.

“Tax identity fraud is a particularly pernicious scam, since its victims often don’t realize that they’ve fallen prey to the scammers until well after the fraud is committed,” said John Breyault, NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud. “While consumers can take steps to better protect their personal information, it is critical that the IRS, industry, and consumers work together to reduce the startling increase in this type of fraud.”

The event is open to the public. Speakers include Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Senator Mike Enzi (R-WV), Mary Louise Kelly, Contributing Editor of The Atlantic, Diana Leyden, Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Tax Clinic, University of Connecticut School of Law, Dean Silverman, Senior Advisor to the Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service, and Paul Weinstein, Director of the Graduate Program in Public Management, The Johns Hopkins University

For more information about the event, click here or contact Jessica Spiegel at jspiegel@theatlantic.com.

Where: The Newseum – Knight Broadcast Center
555 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC, 20001
When: Thursday, January 29, 2015
Guest Registration: 8:30 a.m.
Program: 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

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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.

NCL applauds introduction of paid parental leave, a ‘common-sense’ worker protection – National Consumers League

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January 27, 2015

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, applauds the introduction of the Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave Act, which would provide six weeks of paid parental leave to federal workers. The current federal government policy gives workers 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave and workers can choose to substitute paid sick or annual leave if they want.

“The United States is the only developed nation that does not provide its labor force paid parental leave, and that’s an embarrassment,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL executive director. “Following the birth of a child, workers should not be forced to choose between a paycheck and caring for their newborn. The federal government, as the nation’s largest employer, can lead the way and set an example for private companies that mandatory paid parental leave is a common-sense worker protection.”

In his 2015 State of the Union address on January 20, President Obama said, “Today, we’re the only advanced nation on Earth that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave or maternity leave to our workers.”

Seizing on the momentum from the State of the Union address, a group of Democratic representatives, led by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), introduced the Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave Act. This legislation was twice passed in the House in 2008 and 2009, receiving bi-partisan support. In 2008, 50 Republicans supported the measure, and 24 did so in 2009.

Currently, only 13 percent of American workers have access to paid family leave, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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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.

Move to ban youth work in Virginia tobacco fields welcome by advocates – National Consumers League

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January 21, 2015

Contact: NCL Communications, Ben Klein, (202) 835-3323, benk@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—Last week’s introduction of a bill in the Virginia state legislature to prohibit children under the age of 18 from working in direct contact with tobacco is a hopeful sign in the continued fight to eradicate the practice of youth work in American tobacco fields.

The bill, HB1906, was introduced by Delegate Alfonso Lopez (Democrat-Arlington) and would include an exemption for family farms. If passed, HB1906 would be the first legislation of its kind in a state that harvests tobacco. In Virginia, it would preempt some of the outdated Fair Labor Standards Act provisions that allow children as young as 12 to work unlimited hours on farms performing the dangerous work.

“Children picking tobacco regularly suffer nicotine poisoning, toxic pesticide exposure, and work at dangerous heights,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League (NCL) and co-chair of the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), which NCL co-founded 25 years ago. “We are encouraged by Delegate Lopez’ introduction of HB1906, and we hope this is a sign of things to come. We urge Virginia lawmakers to support this bill, and other tobacco-producing states to follow suit to protect America’s most vulnerable workers—children in tobacco fields.”

In the last year, advocates from NCL, the CLC, and its member organizations, have sought to raise public awareness on youth harvesting tobacco. More than 50 groups have signed onto a series of letters to Congress, industry, and the Obama Administration. In September, Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) and Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) circulated a sign-on letter to House members asking the Department of Labor to take narrowly-focused regulatory action to protect children from dangerous tobacco fields. In December, Phillip Morris USA’s parent company Altria, the largest U.S. tobacco manufacturer, announced that it would require its suppliers to prohibit children under 16 years of age from working in their tobacco fields. NCL praised the company for taking a leadership role on this important issue and called on others to follow. 

“Because our laws are not currently protecting them from this dangerous work, children who harvest tobacco have no choice but to try to protect themselves, wearing garbage bags to minimize skin contact with harmful residues,” said Reid Maki, NCL’s director of child labor advocacy and the coordinator of the CLC. “We applaud Delegate Lopez for taking this first step in Virginia to protect these vulnerable child workers. We encourage his colleagues to stand with him, against the pressure of big agriculture and some in the tobacco industry, for the sake of these young workers.” 

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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 https://nclnet.org.

Coalition of consumer organizations request release of data on FINRA arbitration system – National Consumers League

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January 21, 2015

The National Consumers League joined with a coalition or organizations including: Americans for Financial Reform, Alliance for Justice, Center for Justice and Democracy, Consumers Union, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA), Public Citizen, and U.S. PIRG to request that FINRA Dispute Resolution Task Force release the research and data that addresses the resolution of disputes in the FINRA arbitration system between investors and brokerage firms or investment advisers.

Read the letter here.

Top ten scams report finds rising rate of ‘phantom debt’ scams – National Consumers League

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January 20, 2015

Contact: NCL Communications, Ben Klein, (202) 835-3323, benk@nclnet.org

Washington, DC — The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, today released its annual compilation of the top ten scams reported to Fraud.org, NCL’s flagship project for reporting and tracking scams. Based on an analysis of more than 10,000 consumer complaints submitted in 2014, NCL is warning consumers to be on the lookout for so-called “refund and recovery” scams, also known as “phantom debt” scams.

The predominant version of the “refund and recovery” scams involved a fraudster contacting consumers claiming to be collecting unpaid debts. If consumers questioned the debt, they reported frequently being threatened with jail time, legal action, or other consequences. In 2013, this was the fastest-growing type of telemarketing scam reported to NCL’s Fraud.org campaign. This trend continued in 2014, as the “refund and recovery” scams jumped by 6.23 percentage points, rising to #4 on the overall complaint list.

Fake check scams, which were at the top of the Top Ten Scams list in 2013, dropped to the #3 spot in 2014, down more than 7 percentage points. Topping the list in 2014 were two other perennially frequent frauds—Internet merchandise scams and bogus prizes/sweepstakes scams, ranked #1 and #2 respectively. 

“Fraud remains one of the most pernicious threats facing consumers today,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “We are particularly concerned about scammers increasingly relying on the ‘old-fashioned’ telephone as a way to reach millions of potentially vulnerable consumers.”

The telephone was reported by 42.85% of complainants as the way that they were first contacted by a scammer, ahead of the Web (30.97%), email (15.71%) and postal mail (6.92%). The telephone was the top method of first contact in 2013 and increased even more in 2014 (6.49 percentage point increase).

A positive trend in the 2014 report is the shift in how victims reported sending money to con artists. Previously, wire transfer had been the most popular payment method reported to Fraud.org. In 2014, nearly half (48%) of all victims reported paying by credit card when they lost money to a scam—continuing a trend first noted in 2013 (35%). Victims who pay with credit cards can more easily recover lost funds than those who pay via wire transfer service when they promptly report the suspicious charges to their banks or credit card companies.

“Credit card transactions are a safer way for consumers to pay for products since they can dispute fraudulent charges with their credit card company,” said John Breyault, NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud. “Unfortunately, when a fraud victim sends money via wire transfer or prepaid debit card, the chances of getting their money back are much lower.”

Read the full 2014 top ten scams report here.

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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 https://nclnet.org.