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Topic

Consumer protection

Rules, disclosure requirements and oversight intended to shield buyers and users from misleading offers and unfair commercial practices.

Current stories

leadershipOne report1 publisher

Candidates say Synetal Solutions took thousands for care-job training and delivered no jobs

Synetal Solutions Ltd is accused of taking thousands of pounds for healthcare-job training that led to no jobs, including £3,600 from one candidate. London Citizens Advice reports more recruitment scams since overseas care-worker recruitment ended, and the firm disputes the allegations.

Publishers:bbc.co.uk

Reality

Evidence50
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap
Not scored
Incentives60
Confidence50
investOne report1 publisher

Iowa wants a Polk County judge to freeze OpenAI's advanced-model testing until outside monitors sign off

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird asked a Polk County court to bar OpenAI from advanced model testing and seeks up to $40,000 per violation. With five states already suing in their own courts, OpenAI now faces suits from six.

Reality

Evidence35
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+20
Incentives55
Confidence50
leadershipOne report1 publisher

New York City starts enforcing its rule that cancelling must be as simple as signing up

New York City can now fine companies $525 to $3,500 when cancelling a subscription is harder than signing up, under a rule in effect since October 1. Enforcement is already live, so checking the cancel path is this quarter's work for any company billing New Yorkers monthly.

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption30
Hype gap+10
Incentives45
Confidence55
leadershipOne report1 publisher

State inspection failures bring 7-Eleven and Circle K checkout overcharges to Congress

Five House members criticized 7-Eleven and Circle K after a Guardian review found failure rates as high as 62% in price-accuracy inspections. The enforcement already working is the state and local inspection system that produced those rates. One member has also asked the FTC to step in.

Publishers:theguardian.com

Reality

Evidence58
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+10
Incentives62
Confidence52
productConfirmed3 publishers

FTC probes OpenAI and Anthropic over consumer risk under its existing deception powers

OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI companies face an FTC investigation into consumer risk under the agency's longstanding unfair-or-deceptive-practices power. That puts AI safety copy under the test any marketing claim faces, though the agency has not said which statements it is examining.

Perspective Coverage

3 publishers
Builder
Builder 23%
Operator
Operator 44%
Investor
Investor 33%

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+20
Incentives35
Confidence55
investOne report1 publisher

Korea's registered social-media sellers reported 18 times more income in 2024 than in 2020

Korea's registered social-media sellers reported 33.31 billion won of business income in 2024, more than 18 times the 2020 figure. The tax agency says it has limited means to check those sales, so the total counts only what sellers chose to declare.

Publishers:en.sedaily.com

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption35
Hype gap+20
Incentives40
Confidence55
scienceOne report1 publisher

Matched bettors who lost money blamed their own mistakes, a Bournemouth survey finds

Just over half of 2,112 UK matched bettors surveyed by Bournemouth University said they had lost money at some point, and most explained the loss as a miscalculation or a mistyped stake. The paper's title quotes one of them: there is no risk, so long as you follow the rules.

Publishers:phys.org

Reality

Evidence58
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+10
Incentives40
Confidence55