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CONSUMER PROTECTION

ISSUE AREA

In the 20th century, hard-won reforms gave American consumers safeguards against fraud, unsafe practices, and financial predation. In recent decades, corporate lobbyists and allied lawmakers have worked to rollback these protections, putting everyday Americans at the mercy of bad actors embedded throughout the economy. This rollback period has coincided with the rise of the modern digital economy, which has given bad actors seemingly endless opportunities to exploit consumers.

On any given day, an average consumer can expect to pay prices at checkout higher than those advertised, be forced to pay a monthly subscription they have been deceptively trapped into, and struggle to get refunded for a faulty or dangerous purpose. Data leaks, often the result of data brokers' malfeasance, have made phone and email scams a near-daily occurrence. This reality, far from a natural consequence of digitization, is the result of deliberate policy choices that can and should be challenged. Strong consumer protection rules must be paired with equally strong public institutions capable of enforcing safeguards.

11 SEPTEMBER 2026

State action emerges as last check on Trump-backed prediction market gambling

As the Trump administration CFTC aligns itself with the prediction market lobby, state officials are emerging as a bulwark against the expansion of gambling

9 SEPTEMBER 2026

McMahon-era ED’s student-loan fund risks rewarding contractor abuse amid retreat on borrower protections

As the Department of Education retreats from protecting student-loan borrowers, servicers stand to benefit from the fund’s lack of oversight

8 SEPTEMBER 2026

Private-fund lobbying to delay Form PF reporting shifts financial risk onto the public

SEC and CFTC delay of Form PF reporting rules amounts to 'repeal by delay', limiting regulators' ability to respond to financial instability

13 AUGUST 2026

Data brokers’ noncompliance with California’s Delete Act reflects exploitative business model

Brokers' obstruction of law giving Californians control of their personal data reflects an exploitative business model

11 AUGUST 2026

Taylor Farms food safety crisis follows industry's undermining of safety standards

Dual outbreaks tied to produce supplier underscores impact of corporate lobbying against safety rules alongside anti-science federal policies

8 AUGUST 2026

American Airlines' refund rollback reflects anti-consumer shift amid DOT policy retreat

AA's retreat to the federal minimum on refunds illustrates broader erosion of passenger protections under a DOT led by a former airline lobbyist

3 AUGUST 2026

Weak FCC oversight and industry negligence underpin robocall epidemic

The FCC's insufficient safeguards against robocalls and deference to lobbying by carriers comes in focus as state AGs call for strong rulemaking

30 JULY 2026

CLARITY Act's impasse shows limits of crypto's lobbying efforts as corruption concerns mount

Crypto industry’s goal of light-touch regulation faces derailment in Congress over White House corruption concerns

28 JULY 2026

FAIR Labels Act push reflects agribusiness’ capture of food policy, not consumers' interests

Far from ensuring ‘fairness in labeling,’ the bill serves to undercut competition in the food industry, not promote transparency

24 JULY 2026

Heatwaves highlight decades of federal inaction of preventing workplace deaths

Record-breaking heat calls attention to failure of voluntary compliance standards for preventing workplace heat deaths

22 JULY 2026

New York proposal shows how states can lead on open banking amid federal rollback

Proposed New York legislation shows how state governments can lead on putting consumers in control of their financial data

14 JULY 2026

Memo: Agentic AI adoption, platform power, and consumer risk

Assessing competition concerns and the need for privacy guardrails

ISSUE BRIEF

8 JUNE 2026

United O’Hare controversy brings gate access into focus for airline competition policy

Concerns over United Airlines' deliberate overscheduling at Chicago O'Hare brings attention to the role of gate access in airline competition

26 MAY 2026

CFTC docket response indicates growing political salience of prediction markets

Public response to rulemaking docket, alongside congressional efforts, suggest rising political salience for prediction market regulation

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