Consumer Confidential

Consumer Confidential With David Lazarus
Time is running out for California Internet privacy bill hated by industry

As the clock ticks down on the current California legislative session, it’s increasingly looking like phone and cable companies have succeeded in killing off a bill aimed at giving state residents more control over Internet privacy.

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Even as Wells Fargo scandal deepens, GOP lawmakers push bank deregulation

Far be it from me to see metaphors where none exist, but Wells Fargo’s good name was literally blown away when Hurricane Harvey roared into the Texas city of Corpus Christi last week.

As the local paper reported: “An ‘O’ came to rest near a fountain on the corner of Lower Broadway and Peoples streets. Near there an ‘F’ sat, positioned by the downtown murals of children swimming underwater.

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Phone industry turns to James Bond for answer to robocall villainy

It’s hard to say what’s cooler here — that the phone industry thinks it finally has a partial solution to robocalls or that some inspired techie gave the system a winking James Bond reference by calling it SHAKEN/STIR.

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Buyer's remorse: Getting out of an unwanted timeshare
Mnuchin's wife isn't the only one defining herself through the brands she promotes

Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin’s wife, Louise Linton, did herself no favors when she took to Instagram this week to brag about the luxury brands she was wearing and then belittled a commenter who called her out for her let-them-eat-cake behavior.

“It’s as stupid as stupid gets,” said Leslie Goldgehn, a professor of marketing at the University of San Francisco.

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Spokeo lawsuit highlights challenge of protecting privacy in digital age

For anyone who feels powerless about controlling their personal information in a world of search engines and public databases, take heart. A recent court ruling suggests you might have more muscle than you thought.

The case involves a Pasadena company called Spokeo, which operates a “people search” website that instantaneously pulls together information from publicly available sources.

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