On February 6, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the FCC’s one-to-one consent rule (previously discussed here). Applying the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enters. v. Raimondo, 9 the Eleventh Circuit ruled that the FCC exceeded its legal authority by enforcing additional consent restrictions not explicitly outlined in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).Continue Reading Eleventh Circuit Strikes Down One-to-One Consent Rule

On January 24, the FCC issued an order postponing the effective date of its one-to-one consent rule. The rule, which would have required companies to obtain individual consent for each marketing partner before sharing customer data, was originally slated to go into effect on January 27, 2025. However, the FCC’s order has put the rule on hold until at least January 26, 2026, unless a court ruling dictates an earlier implementation date.Continue Reading FCC Delays Implementation of New Text Message Consent Rules

On January 20, President Trump issued a memorandum instituting a regulatory freeze pending review. This action, a common practice for new administrations, directs federal agencies to halt any new rulemaking until agency heads appointed by the incoming president have reviewed and approved pending regulations. The freeze has significant implications for the financial services industry.Continue Reading Trump Administration Issues Regulatory Freeze

On January 2, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed an interpretive rule under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and Regulation E to clarify how emerging payment systems, such as those used in video games, esports betting, and the use of stablecoin, fit within the existing regulatory framework. According to the Bureau, their actions are part of a broader effort to ensure that companies offering these types of “financial products” have mechanisms in place to protect consumers against hacking attempts, account theft, scams, and unauthorized transactions. It is the CFPB’s belief that absent these protections, consumers may face challenges vindicating their rights in the event of unauthorized transfers or errors.Continue Reading CFPB Proposes Interpretive Rule on Emerging Payment Mechanisms Under EFTA

On December 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit heard arguments in Insurance Marketing Coalition Limited (“IMC”) v. Federal Communications Commission, which was brought by the marketing trade association to challenge the FCC’s December 2023 one-to-one consent rule, which is slated to go into effect on January 27, 2025. Under the new rule promulgated under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the FCC has modified the definition of “express written consent” and seeks to require comparison shopping websites and other marketers to obtain a consumer’s prior written consent to receive calls and texts from one marketing partner at a time. Continue Reading Federal Court of Appeals Considers Challenge to FCC’s One-to-One Consent Rule

On November 26, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against a decentralized cryptocurrency mixing service (a blockchain-based technology used to enable transaction anonymity) accused of facilitating money laundering.Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Overturns OFAC Sanctions on Blockchain-based Privacy Technology

On May 16, the United States Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, held that the CFPB’s funding mechanism does not violate the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution. As we previously discussed in greater detail here, under the Dodd-Frank Act, Congress provided a standing source of funding for the CFPB outside the ordinary annual appropriations process—the Bureau draws from the Federal Reserve System an amount determined by its Director, subject only to an inflation-adjusted cap. Plaintiffs had argued the structure violated the Appropriation’s Clause as it did not go through an annual appropriations process and was effectively “double insulated” from congressional oversight. Continue Reading CFPB Wins at the Supreme Court

On February 15, Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to a leading payment app seeking clarification of its reimbursement policy for victims of imposter scams. Calling its protocol for reporting fraud and scams “unnecessarily complicated,” the Senators asked the payment app to add more categories of scams for which users can be reimbursed, and to streamline its process for reporting fraud, scams, and unauthorized transactions. The Senators noted that the company’s policy did not make clear which types of scams would qualify for reimbursement or what steps consumers needed to take to exercise their rights under its policy. The Senator’s pressed the payment app to make public whether banks and credit unions are required to reimburse customers who are victims of qualifying imposter scams. The Senators asked for responses to their questions by March 13, 2024.Continue Reading Congress Continues to Pressure Payment Apps to Change their Fraud Policies

On November 2, the FTC entered into a settlement agreement with a Manhattan-based fintech company for $18 million over alleged deceptively marketed cash advances to consumers and impeding customers’ ability to cancel memberships. The FTC alleged that the fintech company violated the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA).Continue Reading FTC Settles with Fintech for $18M over Deceptive Cash Transfers and Difficult-to-Cancel Memberships

On September 27, the CFPB released its annual report on residential mortgage lending activity and trends for 2022. Under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), the CFPB requires financial institutions to collect and provide loan-level information on mortgage loan applications and originations. Not surprisingly given the dramatic rise in interest rates last year, the report found that overall affordability is declining, that borrowers spent more of their income on mortgage payments, that loan fees increased dramatically due primarily to many borrowers electing to buy down their interest rate by paying discount points, and that lenders more often denied applications for insufficient income.Continue Reading CFPB 2022 Loan Data: Decrease in Originations; Increase Loan Payments, Fees

On July 31, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas enjoined the CFPB from implementing and enforcing the small business lending rule (Section 1071) requirements pending the Supreme Court’s decision in Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd. v. CFPB, a challenge to the constitutionality of the CFPB’s funding structure (we previously discussed Section 1071 rulemaking in prior blog posts here and here, and the Texas lawsuit here). In particular, the court enjoined the CFPB from implementing and enforcing the final rule against the plaintiffs and their members, but denied the plaintiffs’ request for a nationwide injunction. Continue Reading Texas Court Enjoins CFPB’s Enforcement of Small Business Lending Rule