Consumer Federation of America

Trump administration's changes to the CFPB cost Americans $19B, a new report says The Trump administration has significantly reduced the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's activities over the past year.

apnews.com/article/cfpb...

Attempting to shut down the #CFPB has “cost American families $19 Billion”

Thank you @warren.senate.gov for defending the CFPB and protecting people not predatory profits.

Honored to join congressional leaders, union members & consumer advocates to call on congress to defend the #CFPB & protect people not predatory profits. @adamrust.bsky.social @nteu335.bsky.social

Watch CFA’s @benwinters.bsky.social join @charleyjohnson.bsky.social’s the Untangled podcast to discuss The People First #Chatbot Bill

Full episode here: untangled.substack.com/p/what-if-we...

Food #Inflation, new #DietaryGuidelines, #MAHA, & so much more!

Learn about the future of #FoodPolicy at CFA's National Food Policy Conference, now less than 1 month away.

Register Here: consumerfed.org/events/natio...

What If We Regulated Chatbots Like Any Other Product? Listen now | My conversation with Ben Winters, Director of AI and Privacy at Consumer Federation of America

Give it a read / listen and sign up to Untangled while you're at it - untangled.substack.com/p/what-if-we...

Today, I’m sharing my conversation with @benwinters.bsky.social, Director of AI and Privacy at @consumerfed.bsky.social about The People First Chatbot Bill—model legislation for regulating chatbots that’s been endorsed by over 70 organizations.

Hear our Doug Heller discuss the unjust impact of socioeconomic characteristics that #insurance companies use to set prices

Full video here: www.chicagofed.org/events/2026/...

Housing, Consumer, and Civil Rights Organizations Call Attention to Federal Rollbacks Worsening the Nation’s Housing Crisis · Consumer Federation of America In a letter published today, over thirty leading housing, consumer, and Civil Rights organizations express their urgent concern over recent actions taken by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban De...

As we celebrate a history of activism for civil rights and social justice, we are honored to join member organization NAACP and others on the below letter & our fight for fair housing.

consumerfed.org/press_releas...

Chatbot Developers Brace for Impending Wave of State Regulation Chatbot developers are facing pressure from state lawmakers and consumer advocates to limit the technology’s potential harm amid a swell of private litigation and legislative activity.

A coalition of more than 70 consumer protection, digital rights, and sexual violence prevention organizations have endorsed the People-First Model Chatbot Bill.

It’s designed to set “clear rules of the road.”
@benwinters.bsky.social

The Hidden Costs of Living in a Banking Desert | Bankrate Living in a banking desert can mean higher fees, payday loans and lost savings. Here’s how shrinking bank access impacts real people.

"Once you lose your last branch bank, how do you come back from that?" @adamrust.bsky.social

Without a nearby branch, people resort to banking in places that give them a bad deal: expensive check-cashing services, predatory payday lenders.

Wildfire coverage can be carved out of homeowners insurance A new law allows for this carve out in Nevada

Consumer advocates worry #homeowners could be without #wildfire #insurance without knowing it. Michael DeLong, a research and advocacy associate with the CFA, said this law could set a dangerous precedent.

Homeowners with low #CreditScores pay nearly $2,000 more a year for #insurance than those with high credit scores, according to a new report from CFA

Full story here: www.investigatetv.com/2026/01/30/h...

“There is no reason that a #CreditScore should have anything to do with what you’re playing for homeowners #Insurance” - @susanweinstock.bsky.social

Watch full video here: comcastnewsmakers.com/Videos/2026/...

“A more likely scenario is that it will be quite harmful to #Nevada #homeowners, increasing costs and leaving them unprotected,” Michael DeLong, research and advocacy associate at the Consumer Federation of America, tells @realtordotcom.bsky.social

We are #HIRING! CFA seeks a full-time Director of Competition and Market Fairness. More information / apply here: consumerfed.org/careers/

CFA Releases New Paper Urging Regulators to Link Consumer Protection and Illicit Finance to Stop Scams · Consumer Federation of America The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) released a new paper, Follow the Money: Bridging Consumer Protection and Illicit Finance to Stop Scams, examining the dramatic rise in fraud and calling for cl...

New paper from CFA examines the dramatic rise in #fraud & #scams and calls for closer coordination between consumer protection and the policing of illicit finance.
By @adamrust.bsky.social

Last August, alongside @consumerfed.bsky.social and others, we warned that xAI hadn't done enough to prevent non-consensual sexual deepfakes.

Now the EU has announced its investigation into the company.

Good to see regulators taking this seriously.

‘Delays, lowballs, outright denials’: how the LA wildfires have exposed the US’s broken insurance industry Insurance practices in an age of climate volatility raise troubling questions about home ownership and housing affordability – the bedrock of the American middle class

“We need regulators who are willing to fight for consumers. Regulators have responded with deference to #insurance companies,” charged Douglas Heller, director of insurance at CFA. “That’s a mistake, and we’re paying for it.”

AI Chatbots Posing as Therapists Give Worse Advice the More You Talk to Them A report by consumer advocacy groups found continuing troubles with bots posing as therapists.

"The companies behind these #chatbots have repeatedly failed to rein in the manipulative nature of their products," @benwinters.bsky.social, director of AI and Data Privacy at CFA, said.

Government by AI? Trump Administration Plans to Write Regulations Using Artificial Intelligence The Transportation Department, which oversees the safety of airplanes, cars and pipelines, plans to use Google Gemini to draft new regulations. “We don’t need the perfect rule,” said DOT’s top lawyer....

The Trump administration is planning to write regulations using AI.

The Department of Transportation is about to use Google Gemini to draft new regulations.

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Government by AI? Trump Administration Plans to Write Regulations Using Artificial Intelligence The Transportation Department, which oversees the safety of airplanes, cars and pipelines, plans to use Google Gemini to draft new regulations. “We don’t need the perfect rule,” said DOT’s top lawyer....

. @benwinters.bsky.social, the AI and privacy director at CFA, said the plan was especially problematic given the exodus of subject-matter experts from government. #DOT has had a net loss of nearly 4,000 of its 57,000 employees since Trump returned to the WH, including more than 100 attorneys.
#AI

" #Financial companies know accountability is gone," @adamrust.bsky.social told @usatoday.com . "With no one in the consumers' corner, complaints are ignored, and every day people pay the price."

#CFPB

Is ICE to Blame for Your High Grocery Bill? · Consumer Federation of America If fully realized as proposed, the Administration’s immigration policies could result in American families paying an additional $2,150 for goods and services each year by the end of 2028.

If fully realized as proposed, the Administration’s #immigration policies could result in American families paying an additional $2,150 for #goods and #services each year.

Find out more in our latest #blog

What It's Like to Get Undressed by Grok Elon Musk’s AI image generator has been used to create non-consensual intimate images on X. Meet some of the women affected by it.

“When one company is able to do something and is not held fully accountable for it,” @benwinters.bsky.social says, “it sends a signal to other #BigTech giants that they can do the next thing.”

www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

More than 70 organizations have joined EPIC, @consumerfed.bsky.social, and @fairplayforkids.bsky.social to endorse our People-First Chatbot Bill, a crucial step forward in providing meaningful protections for all chatbot users.

No License Required · Consumer Federation of America New report released by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund and the Consumer Federation of America finds that chatbots marketed as therapist characters can pose serious risks to users’ well-being and privacy.

New Report w/ U.S. PIRG Education Fund

We identified 5 of the most-used generic “ #therapist ” or “ #psychiatrist ” characters on Character.AI & had an open-ended conversation with each about #MentalHealth. The responses were extremely troubling.
@benwinters.bsky.social

The first year of President Trump's second term — “It's been pretty devastating. You know, there's been significant rollback of rules that were put in place to protect consumers,” said @susanweinstock.bsky.social, CEO of CFA
#CFPB

Full Story Here: www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/a...

The People-First Chatbot Bill gives lawmakers a straightforward approach to address the harms caused by chatbot products

✅Chatbots are products, not people. Companies MUST be held accountable when their products harm people.

We urge #states to adopt this legislation before more lives are lost to #chatbot harms! @benwinters.bsky.social

Read the bill: consumerfed.org/testimonial/...

"A change like this cannot occur just by a tweet," said @adamrust.bsky.social, director of financial services at CFA

Consumer experts say Trump lacks the power to mandate a #CreditCard rate cap, a policy move that would require an act of #Congress.
@usatoday.com