Latest Posts

In the Shadow of Big Tech: Part 3 – The Real Harms Felt by Communities on the Frontlines

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By Mary Barrow, CFA Legal Intern The first two installments of this blog series revealed how government policies facilitate rapid data center expansion and how the lack of transparency disproportionately impacts vulnerable communities. This third and final installment examines the tangible and deeply personal harms these communities endure: soaring utility prices, water scarcity, disruptive noise … Continued

The Trump Administration Is Making it Even Harder to Get a Mortgage: How the Federal Housing Finance Agency is Abandoning Affordability In a Housing Crisis

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The United States is in the middle of a housing affordability crisis. Homebuying is at its lowest level since the mid-1990s and the median first-time homebuyer is now 38 years old: an all-time high. Yet, at this critical time, the nation’s most powerful housing regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), is making it even … Continued

CFANews Update – September 30, 2025

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Topics in this issue… New Report Finds Auto Delinquencies Echo Pre-Recession Red Flags Online Marketplaces Are Fueling an American Product Safety Crisis CFA Releases New Fact Sheets on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Navy Federal Overdraft Complaints Reveal Impact of CFPB Rollback on Military Families

Download “Analyses of U.S. Homeowners Insurance Markets, 2018-2022: Climate-Related Risks and Other Factors” Report and Data from Federal Insurance Office (FIO)

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In January 2025, the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) issued a report on rising homeowners insurance costs from 2018 to 2022, based on data collected by FIO and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The report found that over this time period, homeowners insurance premiums increased 8.7% faster than inflation, and that some consumers experienced substantially … Continued

Online Marketplaces Are Fueling an American Product Safety Crisis

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On September 18, 2025, Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Acting Chairman Peter Feldman announced the agency has already exceeded 2024’s record of 369 recalls and warnings, issuing 376 recalls and safety warnings so far in 2025. CFA recognizes and celebrates CPSC’s robust action to protect Americans, but the sobering reality is that these numbers expose … Continued

Debunking The Deregulators: Fact-Checking the 2025 State-Level AI Policy Debate

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To beat back efforts to address artificial intelligence (AI) harms, earlier this summer opponents of meaningful regulation attempted to force through a decade-long moratorium on state-level AI regulation. While this effort failed, these opponents still parade around claims that leaving regulation to the states will result in a patchwork of AI regulation dominated by big blue … Continued

Another Month, Another Rise in Grocery Bills. Blame Authoritarian Tariff Policy

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The monthly inflation report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) came out this morning, once again confirming what many of us have felt at the register: grocery prices are rising. The latest report is the second inflation release with a dose of uncertainty, following the termination via social media post of BLS Commissioner … Continued

How the Bipartisan Dirty Data Center Boom is Leaving Taxpayers Without Power (Part 2 of 3)

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In Part 1 of this series, we examined how federal, state, and local policies are enabling the rapid expansion of data centers across the United States. This second installment dives deeper into how these massive data centers disproportionately impact vulnerable and disenfranchised communities—areas already struggling with limited resources, weakened political power, and diminished capacity to … Continued

Patterns of Peril

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For over 50 years The Consumer Federation of America has advanced the consumer interest through research, advocacy, and education. We diligently investigate consumer issues, behavior, and attitudes. We expertly advance pro-consumer policies on a variety of topics. Moreover, we thoughtfully communicate consumer concerns to the public, the media, policymakers and other public interest advocates. We … Continued

From Refunds to Reversal: Navy Federal Overdraft Complaints Reveal Impact of CFPB Rollback on Military Families

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On November 7, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) to refund more than $80 million to consumers, stop charging illegal overdraft fees, and pay a $15 million civil penalty to the CFPB’s victims’ relief fund. The enforcement action found that NFCU charged customers surprise overdraft fees, even when … Continued

The Wrong Way to Make Foodborne Illness Disappear

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Foodborne illness causes untold suffering. Statistics capture only one part of the story of victims like April Bonham, who lost her baby to Listeria monocytogenes, or Mari Tardiff, who is struggling to walk again after Campylobacter landed her on a ventilator. But reliable statistics, and the foodborne illness surveillance systems that generate them, give us … Continued

How the Bipartisan Dirty Data Center Boom is Leaving Taxpayers Without Power (Part 1 of 3)

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By Mary Barrow, CFA Legal Intern Behind data intensive products like artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency are data centers, large buildings that process data and enable large scale computing. The typical data center houses a collection of computers in a windowless warehouse and requires significant water and energy usage to keep the system cool and running. … Continued

Rethinking GRAS Status for Ultra-Processed Foods: Webinar

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View Webinar When Congress gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responsibility for evaluating food ingredients’ safety in 1958, the law provided an exemption from FDA review for substances like vinegar and spices that were “Generally Recognized as Safe.” In the years since, the food industry has increasingly taken responsibility for determining when food … Continued

CFANews Update – August 26, 2025

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Topics in this issue… New Issue Brief on the Hidden Cost of Credit Score in Homeowners Insurance Premiums Review of the New MAHA Strategy Report Consumer Advocates Demand Investigation into Elon Musk’s Grok AI Tool Facilitating Illegal Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery Trump Administration’s Attack on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Will Harm Consumer Research

Driving Oversight: Why the CFPB’s Supervision of Auto Finance Matters

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Auto finance is at a breaking point in our country. Americans owe more than ever in auto debt–over $1.6 trillion–and the economic pressure cooker that American households are in is rapidly jeopardizing their ability to avoid disastrous auto lending outcomes like delinquency and repossession. These precarious dynamics mean that lenders’ activity will have increasingly significant … Continued

MAHA Strategy Report: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

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Back in May, when the MAHA Commission released its assessment report indicting “ultra-processed foods” as one of the key “driving forces behind American children’s food crisis,” longtime advocates for food system reform wondered, what’s next? Of course, calling out a problem requires much less work than actually solving it. But even so, the early report’s … Continued

Insurance Companies Claim Telematics Will Save You Money on Auto Insurance. The Truth Is More Complicated

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Rising auto insurance premiums are affecting drivers across America, and folks are looking for ways to save money. One strategy often touted by insurance companies is to sign up for usage based insurance (UBI), where the companies use “telematics” to track your driving behavior and calculate your premium based on that behavior. A recent Maryland … Continued

Consumers Need Information About Rising Insurance Risks. State Regulators Should Give Them That Data

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Across America, rising homeowners insurance costs are forcing some people who own their homes to forego coverage, tightening budgets for homeowners whose mortgages require coverage and preventing prospective buyers from purchasing homes. Climate change-driven severe weather is an exacerbating factor, increasing the cost of claims and driving up premiums. Clear, reliable information about rising insurance … Continued

A New Approach to Ultra-Processed Foods

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Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are attracting scorn from would be food system reformers across the political spectrum. “Ultraprocessed foods and beverages (UPFs) pose a growing public health challenge,” says the American Heart Association. “Today’s over-reliance on UPFs is damaging the health of American children,” says the Administration’s “Make Our Children Healthy Again” assessment report, popularly known … Continued

The Regulatory Landscape of Online Marketplaces

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Online marketplaces have transformed e-commerce by allowing third-party sellers, who are independent merchants, to reach global audiences through the online marketplace’s platform. Some products from third-party sellers on online marketplace, such as the products described in the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue report Unsafe and Online, may not meet mandatory safety standards. Unfortunately, enforcement from U.S. authorities … Continued

Illinois Passes Commonsense Controls on Use of AI in Mental Health Care

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On Tuesday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act, a bill that restricts the use of AI systems in providing mental health services. The bill comes as stories of “AI Therapists” recommending drug use, self-harm, and other unfounded advice continue to pop up. It seems to regulate not only the … Continued

Feelings Over Facts: Trump Administration’s Attack on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Will Harm Consumer Research

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On August 1st, Donald Trump fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. Earlier in the day, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released disappointing monthly employment numbers, following up on an earlier release showing that inflation ticked up in June. Both releases suggest that consumers are starting to feel the pain of the … Continued

CFANews Update – July 31, 2025

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Topics in this issue… Transatlantic Consumer Groups Release Report About Unsafe Products in Online Marketplaces Corey Frayer Testifies for House Ways and Means Subcommittee about Crypto Oversight Does Your State Allow Medical Bills to Appear on Credit Reports? More than $360 Million Owed to Consumers from CFPB Enforcement Actions is Already Gone or At Risk

Does Your State Allow Medical Bills to Appear on Credit Reports?

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Credit reports serve as economic gatekeepers for millions of Americans seeking to buy a home or a car, start a business, find an apartment, or apply for a job. Medical bills appear on the credit reports of about 15 million people. The reporting of these bills causes a lot of pain, for no good reason: … Continued