3 posts and columns on Consumers Union

Is Verizon’s New Early-Termination Fee Anti-Consumer?

in News on November 6, 2009 at 11:06 am PT

Beginning Nov. 15, Verizon subscribers looking to get out of their smart-phone contracts early will pay $350 for the privilege. That early-termination fee is double the current one, but Verizon insists it’s justified because of the higher prices of today’s phones. An interesting move for a carrier that just last year agreed to pay $21 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by California consumers over the very early-termination fees it is now increasing.
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FTC to Hold Privacy Roundtables

in News on September 16, 2009 at 1:13 pm PT

The Federal Trade Commission is planning three public discussions, starting in December, devoted to technology and consumer privacy. According to the FTC, the roundtables will address topics such as social networking, cloud computing, online advertising and mobile marketing, the goal being “to determine how best to protect consumer privacy while supporting beneficial uses of the information and technological innovation.”

Privacy Groups Urge Congress to Toughen Up on Online Ads

in News on September 1, 2009 at 2:11 pm PT

Ten privacy groups urged Congress on Tuesday to take greater steps to limit advertising that tracks consumers’ behavior online. The coalition, which included the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Consumers Union and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, singled out behavioral advertising, in which Internet users are tracked, analyzed and served ads based on the information gleaned from their movements, in its recommendations.