Proposed Rule Issued for Big Truck Fuel Economy and Emissions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced new draft rules earlier this month for heavy-duty vehicle fuel economy and emissions. The program would significantly reduce carbon emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty vehicles.

A new poll released by CFA as the draft rules were issued shows strong public support for the measure.  A large majority of Americans favor requiring manufacturers to increase the fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks (71 percent) while less than one quarter oppose such a requirement (24 percent).

“The proposed heavy-duty truck fuel efficiency standards are a ‘win-win-win’, benefitting consumers’ pocketbooks, big truck fleet owners and the economy,” said CFA Public Affairs Director Jack Gillis. “Clearly, the vast majority of consumers understand how important these standards are and want them to go into effect.”

CFA estimates that the average American household spends approximately $1,100 extra per year on consumer goods to cover the cost of fueling today’s big trucks.  “While we look forward to analyzing the specific consumer impacts of the new rules, CFA has conducted enough analyses to know that energy performance standards for medium and heavy duty trucks are powerful tools that save consumers money,” said CFA Research Director Mark Cooper. “Our survey shows that the American public recognizes this, too.”

New Rule Protects Consumers from Robocalls

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 earlier this month to adopt a pro-consumer ruling to protect consumers against unwanted robocalls and spam texts. Consumer groups issued a joint press statement applauding the FCC’s action, which was taken despite heavy lobbying from multiple sectors of industry seeking to use robodialers to call and text cell phones without consent.

Highlights of the Commission’s Declaratory Ruling for consumers who use either landline or wireless phones include:

• Empowering Consumers to Say ‘Stop.’ Consumers have the right to revoke their consent to receive robocalls and robotexts in any reasonable way at any time.
• Reassigned Numbers Aren’t Loopholes. If a phone number has been reassigned, companies must stop calling the number after one call.
• Third-party Consent. A consumer whose name is in the contacts list of an acquaintance’s phone does not consent to receive robocalls from third-party applications downloaded by the acquaintance.
• Green Light for ‘Do Not Disturb’ Technology. Service providers can offer robocalls-blocking technologies to consumers and implement market-based solutions that consumers can use to stop unwanted robocalls.

“We applaud the FCC for holding the line to keep the plague of unwanted robocalls from becoming even worse,” said CFA Director of Consumer Protection Susan Grant. “Since the FCC has now clarified that telephone companies can block these types of calls, we expect the companies to act quickly to implement blocking options for their customers.”

In addition, the FCC voted to open a proceeding to modernize the Lifeline federal low-income program to include broadband service to eligible low-income households.

Privacy Advocates Withdraw from Facial Recognition Talks

Privacy advocates announced earlier this month that they were withdrawing from further negotiations in the multi-stakeholder process convened by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) to write a voluntary code of conduct for companies that use facial recognition technology, having concluded that the NTIA process is not likely to result in adequate privacy protection for consumers.

“This is an inherently flawed process because there is no incentive for companies to agree to anything that might constrain their current or future business practices,” said CFA Director of Consumer Protection Susan Grant in a press statement. “In the 16 months that the process has dragged on there has been no meaningful progress and it has become clear that we will be unable to reach consensus on fundamental issues such as consumer consent to be subject to facial recognition.”

“At a base minimum, people should be able to walk down a public street without fear that companies they’ve never heard of are tracking their every movement – and identifying them by name – using facial recognition technology,” the groups wrote in announcing their withdrawal. “Unfortunately, we have been unable to obtain agreement even with that basic, specific premise. The position that companies never need to ask permission to use biometric identification is at odds with consumer expectations, current industry practices, as well as existing state law.”

“We hope that our withdrawal signals the need to reevaluate the effectiveness of multi-stakeholder processes in developing effective rules of the road that protect consumer privacy – and that companies will support and implement,” they added.

CFA Honors Outstanding Consumer Service

CFA held its 45th annual Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C. earlier this month at which it recognized outstanding consumer service.  Philip Hart Public Service Awards were presented to Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and Commissioner Robert Adler of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. President and Founder of KidsAndCars.org Jannette Fennell received the Esther Peterson Consumer Service Award, and Brian Ross, Chief Investigative Correspondent for ABC News, received the Betty Furness Consumer Media Service Award.