Current Events in February 2018

In hopes of wiping the egg off its iPhone battery’s face, Apple has unveiled a new “battery health” section in the latest version of system software iOS 11.3.

In late 2017, Apple was accused of intentionally slowing down older iPhone models. After facing class action lawsuits filed by unhappy owners of older iPhones and taking a deeper dive into customer complaints, the company decided transparency about the aging of its batteries as well as offering a new, discounted replacement battery could help resolve the issue.

Now, Apple is adding on a software update that tackles the battery issue head on and gives users several new key insights: the percentage of the original charge remaining in their battery; an option to disable the performance throttle on iPhones that have weak batteries; and a performance management feature that dynamically manages maximum performance to prevent unexpected shutdowns.

Will this make its users happy?

It remains to be seen if this move will soothe the souls of iPhone aficionados or the Department of Justice, but it’s certainly another step in the right direction after the company had been accused of deliberately slowing down older model iPhones -- one they apologized profusely for.

In Apple scout Gregory McFadden’s demonstration video of the new battery health feature, it’s apparent that the company is going the extra mile to make sure users get a full explanation of what the iPhone battery performance feature does and the steps to take if the battery degrades.

“I think the appropriate steps were taken and these new battery health features are an amazing step forward in transparency for iPhone users,” McFadden told ConsumerAffairs. “In my honest viewpoint, Apple went above and beyond to address the battery controversy and gives users the choice on what options to take to prolong the life of their iPhone.”

More than just a battery fix

Giving users a better handle on battery life isn’t the only thing that Apple users should expect in the system update. Also included will be new Animoji (animated emoji) options, the capability to view your health records, and what the company is touting as the the “largest AR platform in the world.”

“Simply put, we believe augmented reality is going to change the way we use technology forever,” Apple chief Tim Cook said during his Q4 2017 earnings call. “We’re already seeing things that will transform the way you work, play, connect and learn.”

In a statement released on Tuesday, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb warned consumers about kratom, an herbal supplement that some believe could possibly reduce opioid withdrawal cravings.

A new analysis by scientists at the FDA shows that compounds in kratom, a Southeast Asian tree leaf, act like prescription-strength opioids. To date, the agency says kratom has been linked to 44 deaths, up from 36 reported in November.

"There is no evidence to indicate that kratom is safe or effective for any medical use," Gottlieb said. The scientific data and adverse event reports have “clearly revealed” that compounds in kratom render it more dangerous than “just a plant,” he said.

Potential risks

“It’s an opioid,” Gottlieb continued. "And it's an opioid that's associated with novel risks because of the variability in how it's being formulated, sold, and used recreationally and by those who are seeking to self-medicate for pain or who use kratom to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms.”

To analyze the chemical structure of kratom’s compounds, FDA scientists used a 3-D computational model called the Public Health Assessment via Structural Evaluation (PHASE) methodology. This technology was used to detect how the brain reacts when it is exposed to kratom.

From this analysis, the researchers concluded that all of the substance’s compounds share the most structural similarities with controlled opioid analgesics, such as morphine derivatives. They also found that 22 of the 25 compounds in kratom bind strongly to mu-opioid receptors, comparable to opioid drugs.

"The model shows us that kratom compounds are predicted to affect the body just like opioids," Gottlieb said. "Taken in total, the scientific evidence we've evaluated about kratom provides a clear picture of the biologic effect of this substance. Kratom should not be used to treat medical conditions, nor should it be used as an alternative to prescription opioids.”.

Regulatory hurdles

Kratom is currently legal under federal law, but FDA inspectors have been seizing and destroying shipments at international mail facilities for months.

In 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced plans to temporarily list kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance, which would put it in the same category as heroin.

But backlash from more than 50 members of the House and Senate, as well as a flood of complaints on social media, prompted the DEA to delay its decision. The agency instead called on the FDA to issue a public comment and scientific review of the plant.

The FDA has submitted its review to the DEA, which has not yet said whether it will escalate kratom’s listing from “drug of concern” to a Schedule I substance.

The American Kratom Association consumer group called the FDA’s statement an "unprecedented abuse of science to create a new computer program that is clearly garbage in, garbage out avoiding the rules of the Controlled Substances Act and making unproven claims that have been proven to be untrue."

"Our scientists will review the statement, but there are clear mistakes based on pre-existing confirmation bias on the part of the FDA," the group wrote.

An investigation published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests the number of US children with brain damage from prenatal drinking may be higher than previously thought.

The study of four U.S. communities in the Southeast, Midwest, Pacific Southwest, and Rocky Mountain region found that at least one percent to five percent of first-graders had a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are "costly, life-long disabilities," caused by alcohol use during pregnancy, the report says. The group of conditions can be characterized by central nervous system damage and abnormal facial features.

The recent study found that the prevalence of FASD ranged depending on the community. However, it was much higher than the previously accepted prevalence estimate of about 1 in 100 children.

‘Not uncommon’

In the new study, a conservative approach put the prevalence estimate for FASD at one to five percent of children, while a less conservative take suggested three to ten percent.

The Rocky Mountains area had the greatest prevalence, while the Midwest had the lowest, the researchers estimated.

"The conservative estimates assume that every child who didn't participate in the study didn't have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder," explained study leader Christina Chambers, a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego.

"The flip side of the coin says that instead of the denominator being all eligible children, it is only those children for whom we had sufficient information to classify them -- a much smaller number,” she said.

"The bottom line is, these are not uncommon disorders," Chambers said.  

Drinking during pregnancy

Some types of FASD involve mild learning or behavioral issues while the most severe type -- fetal alcohol syndrome -- can lead to growth problems, abnormal facial features, and damage to the nervous system.

"Alcohol in the mother's blood passes to the baby through the umbilical cord. When a woman drinks alcohol, so does her baby," the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said.

To prevent FASDs, health experts recommend abstaining from alcohol entirely while pregnant or trying to conceive. That’s because no amount of alcohol during pregnancy is known to be safe.

The recommendation to avoid alcohol altogether is “based on the idea that there are differences in susceptibility,” Chambers explained. “We don’t know what a safe threshold is.”

The tech support scam is nothing new, but it continues to take different forms as scammers figure out new ways to panic computer users into handing over their credit card information.

Security site Malwarebytes reports an increase in these tech support scams attacking Chrome users with fake virus warnings. In a new twist, these scams sometimes successfully lock up users’ browser.

As the browser freezes, a message appears warning the computer user to call Microsoft tech support for help immediately. The message also provides a toll free number -- but instead of connecting the frightened consumer to Microsoft, a scammer is waiting on the other end who requires a credit card payment before providing assistance.

The screen grab below, provided by Malwarebytes, shows what the computer user sees when the scammer strikes and how their computer's performance is affected.

Dubious websites and ads

A consumer encounters this frightening scam when they visit a website that has embedded the malicious code, or when they come across an advertisement that launches the warning.

Consumers can avoid this scam -- and most tech support scams in general -- by avoiding unfamiliar websites. If users do get an onscreen warning, they should never call the number on the screen.

Microsoft, meanwhile, would like to know about any tech support scams consumers encounter that mention the company’s name. You can report it here.

Law enforcement stepping up

Law enforcement has successfully cracked down on tech support scammers in recent months. In January, a federal court seized the assets of an alleged tech support scam operation and ordered it distributed to the scam's victims.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had accused the defendants of using internet ads and popups that claimed to be from major tech companies like Microsoft and Apple to trick consumers into calling the defendants and buying tech support services.

States have also been active in pursuing tech support scammers. In 2016, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi joined with the FTC in securing a $27 million settlement with two companies accused of selling bogus software for $30 to fix non-existent computer problems.

Vogue Tyre & Rubber is recalling 1,203 Signature V tires, sizes 245/40R20, 235/45R17, 225/50R17, 225/45R17, 235/55R17, 245/45R17 and 235/65R18, and Signature V SCT tires, sizes 285/45R22, 275/55R20.

The tires have incomplete Tire Identification number (TIN) codes on the intended outboard sidewalls in that they are missing date codes.

Missing TIN information can make it difficult for owner to identify the tire in the event of a recall, potentially increasing the risk of driving with a recalled tire which could result in a crash.

Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 139, "New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles."

What to do

Vogue will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected tires, free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin February 12, 2018. Owners may contact Vogue customer service at 1-800-323-1466.

Volkswagen Group of America is recalling 97,440 model year 2009-2012 Audi Q5s, and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolets and S5 Cabriolets.

Upon deployment of the driver's front airbag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to explode with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants, potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

What to do

Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternative inflator, free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin February 13, 2018.

Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69R6. 

A published report claims the Trump Administration is stepping back from a full investigation of last year's massive Equifax data breach.

The Reuters news agency cites three sources it says have confirmed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), under new director Mick Mulvaney, has so far not ordered subpoenas against Equifax, a first step in any full-scale probe.

A spokesman for CFPB told Reuters the agency is not permitted to say whether or not there is an investigation underway, nor to comment on the status of any probe.

In early September, Equifax -- one of the three credit reporting agencies -- revealed that hackers had gained access to the credit records of at least 143 million consumers -- a number that was later raised significantly.

Personal information compromised

The security breach resulted in attackers gaining access to consumers' names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and, in some cases, driver's license numbers. Consumer advocates said they expected the CFPB, as the nation's financial watchdog, to investigate the breach and to determine any remedy.

News that the agency and its director may be stepping back from a full-scale investigation was greeted with dismay by consumer groups. Americans for Financial Reform sees it as part of a pattern.

"Mulvaney is going easy on Wells Fargo and predatory payday lenders, and now we have fresh evidence of another terrible move: Mick Mulvaney wants to let Equifax off the hook for its reckless abuse and negligence that may have a lasting impact on millions of Americans," the group said in an email to ConsumerAffairs.

"It’s one more reason why it’s so important to have someone with a track record of protecting consumers running the CFPB, not someone who wants to destroy its work. There are billions of dollars at stake for families and communities across the country.”

'Severe harm'

Yana Miles, senior legislative counsel for the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), told Reuters the CFPB director appears determined to pull the watchdog's teeth.

"The administration should recognize the severe harm Mulvaney is doing to the public and nominate a director who has people's interest at heart," she said.

In January, several consumer advocates went public with their concerns about what they perceived as the changing mission of the CFPB. At that time, CRL charged that the consumer agency was being led by someone more interested in eliminating rules that protect consumers than enforcing those rules.

Meanwhile, Equifax has disclosed that it is being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and attorneys general in most states. It also faces more than 200 class action lawsuits stemming from the 2017 data breach.

More than half of American cats are overweight, and those extra pounds can lead to a variety of health problems, including diabetes, skeletal stress, and a shortened life span.

However, in order to help an overweight cat achieve weight loss, owners must continue to reduce the feline’s food intake even as they lose weight. That’s because a fat cat will stay a lazy cat even after it loses weight, researchers say.

A recent study from the University of Illinois found that in order for cats to achieve weight loss, a continual reduction of food intake had to be implemented.

“That’s a key point. When we go on a diet ourselves, we might lose a lot of weight in the first few weeks and then hit a roadblock. Same with these animals,” said lead author Kelly Swanson.

The eight cats in the study were all neutered males, which the researchers noted tend to be lazy. For 18 weeks, the cats were kept together while having their activity level and food intake monitored. The results showed that the animals needed a lot of time to reach their weight goals.

“It turns out you have to keep reducing their food intake because they're not very active. It takes a long time," Swanson said.

Healthy weight loss

The researchers targeted a safe level of weight loss -- 1.5 percent body weight loss per week, which falls in line with the range (0.5-2 percent per week) suggested by the American Animal Hospital Association.

This rate of weight loss is enough to notice a change, but not enough to cause health problems as a result of losing weight too quickly. Each cat's food intake was reduced at the beginning of weeks two through eight and then kept constant for the remaining 10 weeks.

"The intent with this diet was a healthy weight loss: getting rid of fat while maintaining lean mass," he said. "The risk with rapid weight loss, especially in a cat, is hepatic lipidosis. The body releases too much fat, and the liver gets bogged down. They can't handle that much.”

To achieve 1.5 percent loss, the researchers had to keep cutting the felines’ food intake. First by 20 percent compared to a maintenance diet, then further reducing food intake every week.

“We got really low, but we were monitoring them so they were healthy,” Swanson said.

As the group of cats slimmed down, their voluntary physical activity “didn’t change much.” Swanson said that toward the end of the study, they were “becoming a little more active, but not statistically."

Helping your pet lose weight

The study authors say it can be hard to convince a pet owner to keep reducing their pet’s food intake. “You might get owners to reduce intake from 60 to 50 grams per day, but we're telling them they might have to go to 45 or 40 grams.”

Swanson added that pet owners sometimes don’t even want to admit that their pets are overweight.

"We've done some clinical studies in dogs showing that misconception. If you have a veterinarian do a body conditioning assessment (BCS) of a pet and then have an owner do it, the owner will almost always underestimate the BCS,” he said, adding that it’s crucial for owners to acknowledge the weight status of their pets.

"The second thing that needs to change is the owner's behavior: getting them to reduce food intake to maintain a healthy BCS. Food companies recognize that many owners feed too much, so they're trying to formulate their diets so it's easier for the animals to maintain or lose weight even if an owner overfeeds," he said.

To help a cat achieve weight loss, Swanson recommends encouraging exercise as much as possible by playing with them and placing food bowls farther away from favorite resting spots.

The full study has been published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research.

Scientists in Japan say a chemical used to make McDonald's french fries might be effective at reversing baldness.

The researchers tried using the chemical, called dimethylpolysiloxane, in experiments on mice and found that it helped regrow hair. They say they are hopeful that it will also work on humans.

Hair loss affects tens of millions of people around the world, and not just men. It most often occurs with aging, but some men begin losing their hair at an early age.

In recent years clinicians have developed therapies to regenerate hair follicles, which are necessary for the growth and maintenance of hair. One difficulty is preparing hair follicle germs on a large scale.

Writing in the journal Biomaterials, researchers at Yokohama National University report they have successfully prepared up to 5,000 hair follicle germs (HFGs) simultaneously. They say they were able to grow new hair after transplanting them into mice.

Successful experiment

"The key for the mass production of HFGs was a choice of substrate materials for culture vessel," said corresponding author Junji Fukuda, a professor at Yokohama National University. "We used oxygen-permeable dimethylpolysiloxane (PDMS) at the bottom of the culture vessel, and it worked very well."

Admittedly, dimethylpolysiloxane is not exactly a household name. It was the British newspaper Evening Standard that made the connection to McDonald's fries.

The newspaper notes that dimethylpolysiloxane is found in silicone and that silicone is usually added to the oil McDonald's uses to make its fries golden brown without the oil bubbling over.

You can't eat your way to a full head of hair

However, it should be noted there is nothing in the research to suggest that eating french fries will help you retain a full head of hair. The chemical must be directly applied to the follicle in a specific therapy.

Still, Fukuda is hopeful that his research team has found an answer that has eluded the bald population for centuries. He calls the method simple but promising and is eager to begin human trials.

The parent company of fast food chain Arby's has completed its acquisition of sports bar chain Buffalo Wild Wings. The $2.9 billion deal was initially announced in November.

Roark Capital, Arby's parent company, says the two restaurants will be combined under a single entity, Inspire Brands, but will remain separate operations. However, industry experts say patrons of both restaurants may notice some changes.

For example, Arby's customers may see new choices when it comes to seasonings. Buffalo Wild Wings, which specializes in spicy chicken wings, offers its customers a wide assortment of spicy condiments, which could eventually show up at Arby's.

Condiment collaboration

Starting today, both chains will offer a new sauce -- a combination of Buffalo Wild Wings' Asian Zing with Arby's Horsey sauce. However, the new concoction will only be available this week at one Buffalo Wild Wings and two Arby's locations in New York.

“We believe the time is right to create a different kind of restaurant company — one with a broad portfolio of distinct brands across a full spectrum of restaurant occasions,” said Inspire Brands CEO Paul Brown. “Our goal is to build an organization that leverages the benefits of scale, not only to save cost, but also to enable outsized investments in long-term growth initiatives.”

Brown is largely credited for Arby's dramatic turnaround, led by menu changes and facility upgrades. Buffalo Wild Wings, meanwhile, has struggled to maintain its position in the crowded casual dining space.

While Qualcomm’s chip relationship with the iPhone goes back to 2011, Apple started splitting its baseband chip orders with Intel and Qualcomm when the iPhone 7 was released in 2016.

However, reports are now circulating that Apple may switch from Qualcomm-based chips to Intel ones altogether. Some Apple watchers consider this a big gamble because of differences in performance. In tests performed by Cellular Insights, the iPhone 7 Plus using the Qualcomm modem “had a significant performance edge over the iPhone 7 Plus with the Intel modem.”

While Apple never disclosed its reasons for limiting the Qualcomm modem on the iPhone 7, those familiar with the situation feel it was an effort to level the performance playing field between the Verizon/Sprint and the AT&T/T-Mobile versions of the phone. Now, with only one supplier, the iPhone’s performance might be slower with the Intel chip, but at least it should be consistent and without any speed comparisons like it faced when Qualcomm was a co-supplier.

What’s the real backstory on why Apple is changing chip makers?

Apple and Qualcomm have been embroiled in a legal spitting match for more than a year, according to several reports. The squabbles started when Qualcomm accused Apple of sharing its proprietary code with Intel. At the same time, Apple alleged that Qualcomm overcharged for chips and refused to pay the tech giant promised rebates.

Qualcomm sits on a treasure trove of patents -- more than 130,000 of them -- and they’re the kinds of things that make phones run. If you want to manufacture a phone that has the ability to send and receive data or one capable of a high-speed internet connection, you more than likely have to get a license from Qualcomm.

However, to get that license, the company charged Apple as much as a 5 percent royalty on the average selling price of its phones. That means Apple handed over as much as $40 to Qualcomm on an $800 iPhone.

Apple got tired of paying a royalty it considered unfair and asked Qualcomm to give them a break on standard-essential patents. When things didn’t go Apple’s way, the company decided to wage war and Qualcomm retaliated in kind. Patent validity, anti-trust, vindictive marketing campaigns -- no threat was left off the table.

Apple sued Qualcomm for a billion dollars in the U.S., plus another $145 million in China. The company even raised the bar another couple of notches with 20 filings in federal court alleging that there was “mounting evidence of Qualcomm’s perpetuation of an illegal business model that burdens innovation.”

It may not be a great time for Qualcomm to be bullish

To make matters worse, four global regulators have fined Qualcomm in the last three years. In the latest instance in January, the European Commission slapped the company with a $1.23 billion fine and said its practices prevented competitors, such as Intel, from supplying 4G LTE radios to Apple for five years.

The immediate impact of Apple’s supposed shift from Qualcomm to Intel was felt by all three players at the close of business on Monday. Intel shares were down 3.53 percent; Apple shares were down 2.5 percent; and Qualcomm shares fell by 6.57 percent.

Reuters also reports that rival Broadcom Ltd made a $121 billion “best and final offer” to acquire Qualcomm Inc, raising further questions about the company’s ability to see its way clear from all its entanglements.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is facing post-Super Bowl backlash for its advertisement featuring the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

A sermon that King gave on February 4, 1968, exactly fifty years ago from the 2018 Super Bowl, was used to narrate the company’s commercial for Ram Trucks. King discusses serving a higher purpose in his sermon. The advertisement ends on the motto, “Built to Serve.”

Critics noted that King was highly critical of capitalism, describing it as “evil” in one speech. The social media outrage and jokes about the irony of his words now being used in a multi-million dollar commercial spurred a defensive response from the company.

“We worked closely with the representatives of the Martin Luther King Jr. estate to receive the necessary approvals, and estate representatives were a very important part of the creative process every step of the way,” Fiat said in a statement.

But on Twitter, The King Center clarified that they did not approve of allowing King’s sermon in the advertisement. They explained that the issue, however, was out of their hands.

“Neither @TheKingCenter nor @BerniceKing,” his daughter, “is the entity that approves the use of #MLK’s words or imagery for use in merchandise, entertainment (movies, music, artwork, etc) or advertisement, including tonight’s @Dodge #SuperBowl commercial,” the center wrote.

Neither @TheKingCenter nor @BerniceKing is the entity that approves the use of #MLK’s words or imagery for use in merchandise, entertainment (movies, music, artwork, etc) or advertisement, including tonight’s @Dodge #SuperBowl commercial.

— The King Center (@TheKingCenter) February 5, 2018

King sibling disagreement

The apparent discrepancy can be traced back to a dispute between the children who control the estates of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King.

An entity called Intellectual Properties Management Inc., run by the Kings’ son Dexter, reportedly owns the rights to all of the reverend’s speeches and images. The company’s managing director, Eric Tidwell, released a statement to NBC on Monday that similarly defended the ad.

“We found that the overall message of the ad embodied Dr. King's philosophy that true greatness is achieved by serving others. Thus we decided to be a part of Ram's 'Built To Serve' Super Bowl program,” he said. (Tidwell has not returned a voicemail left by ConsumerAffairs).

But Dexter’s sister, the minister Bernice King, controls The King Center nonprofit, a separate entity. She distanced herself from the advertisement, replying “No” when a writer on Twitter asked whether his children approved of the commercial.

No.

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) February 5, 2018

The siblings have long battled each other in court over control of their parents’ estates. Several years ago, brothers Dexter and Martin Luther III sued Bernice in an attempt to obtain their father’s  Bible and Nobel Peace Prize medal. The brothers reportedly wanted to sell the artifacts, but Bernice did not.

The estate, which claimed that the artifacts had been stored in unsafe conditions, dismissed their lawsuit against the center after the siblings reached a settlement in 2015.

Emotional or comedic angle?

It’s not the first time that advertisers have used the civil rights icon to sell a car. General Motors and Mercedes Benz have also used footage of King in their commercials over the years. But Fiat’s commercial came at a time when some NFL players continue to face their own storm of backlash for kneeling during the National Anthem to protest racial injustice.

While advertisers over the years have typically used their valuable Super Bowl airtime to make commercials that are comedic, others like Fiat have attempted to appeal to consumers’ emotions. Hyundai’s 2018 Super Bowl ad depicted its customers getting introduced to cancer survivors. And Coca-Cola’s commercial last night tied the beverage to images of a diverse and inclusive planet.

Light-hearted ads  for Tide and Pepsi scored better with critics.

The Federal Reserve has taken stern measures against Wells Fargo, telling the bank it will not be allowed to grow until it "sufficiently improves its governance and controls."

The action comes against the backdrop of Wells Fargo's 2016 revelation that it opened millions of bank and credit card accounts without customers' knowledge or consent. The bank has faced class action lawsuits and has already settled with U.S. regulators, paying $185 million in fines.

It also replaced its CEO and three board members, but the Fed says that isn't sufficient to make up for past abuses and to prevent them from happening in the future. At the direction of the Fed, Wells Fargo will replace three more board members by April and a fourth by the end of the year.

The meat of the order is a requirement that Wells Fargo improve its governance and risk management processes, including making its board of directors more accountable for oversight. The Fed order says Wells Fargo will not be allowed to grow in total assets beyond its size at the end of 2017 until it makes improvements that meet regulators' approval.

'Pervasive and persistent misconduct'

"We cannot tolerate pervasive and persistent misconduct at any bank, and the consumers harmed by Wells Fargo expect that robust and comprehensive reforms will be put in place to make certain that the abuses do not occur again," said outgoing Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

"The enforcement action we are taking today will ensure that Wells Fargo will not expand until it is able to do so safely and with the protections needed to manage all of its risks and protect its customers."

For its part, Wells Fargo said it is committed to satisfying the Federal Reserve's order.

“We take this order seriously and are focused on addressing all of the Federal Reserve’s concerns,” company CEO Timothy Sloan said it in statement. “It is important to note that the consent order is not related to any new matters, but to prior issues where we have already made significant progress. We appreciate the Federal Reserve’s acknowledgment of our actions to date.”

The Fed took Wells Fargo to task for pursuing what it called "a business strategy that prioritized its overall growth without ensuring appropriate management of all key risks."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), an early Wells Fargo critic, said she had repeatedly pressed Yellen to take tougher action against the bank.

"Today she did it, in her last act as Fed Chair," Warren said. "Fines alone will never rein in fraudulent behavior at the big banks."

A group of technologists who were early employees at Facebook and Google have come together to challenge the companies they helped build and grow.

The group, called the Center for Humane Technology, has launched an anti-tech lobbying effort alongside media watchdog group Common Sense Media to help build awareness about technology addiction, The New York Times reported.

Designed on the model of anti-smoking drives, the “Truth About Tech” lobbying effort and ad campaign will be targeted at 55,000 public schools across the country.

Designed to addict

The Truth About Tech campaign will educate students, parents, and teachers about the harmful side effects of excessive technology use, specifically the link between heavy use of social media and depression.

"There's an invisible problem that's affecting all of society," the Center for Humane Technology says on its website. "Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google have produced amazing products that have benefited the world enormously. But these companies are also caught in a zero-sum race for our finite attention, which they need to make money.”

“Constantly forced to outperform their competitors, they must use increasingly persuasive techniques to keep us glued. They point AI-driven news feeds, content, and notifications at our minds, continually learning how to hook us more deeply -- from our own behavior."

The group says each social media site has its own way of making people’s lives worse.

"Snapchat turns conversations into streaks, redefining how our children measure friendship. Instagram glorifies the picture-perfect life, eroding our self worth. Facebook segregates us into echo chambers, fragmenting our communities. YouTube autoplays the next video within seconds, even if it eats into our sleep.”

“These are not neutral products. They are part of a system designed to addict us,” CHT said.

Kids are vulnerable

The campaign will focus primarily on kids due to their increased vulnerability to technology addiction.

Last week, more than 100 child health experts warned of the dangers of social media for kids, and urged Facebook to put an end to Messenger Kids, a video calling and messaging app geared toward children under 13.  

In an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the experts said that "younger children are simply not ready to have social media accounts.”

‘We were on the inside’

The people associated with this organization should know that different technologies are designed to garner an inordinate amount of human attention because they worked at those companies, said Tristan Harris, a former in-house ethicist at Google, who is heading the new group.

"We were on the inside," he told The Times. "We know what the companies measure. We know how they talk, and we know how the engineering works."

The Center for Humane Technology believes building an awareness of the ill-effects of technology is key to solving the problem. Ultimately, the group hopes to “reverse the digital attention crisis and realign technology with humanity’s best interests.”

Its first step toward accomplishing this goal will be introducing a Ledger of Harms -- a website that includes data on the health effects of technology, as well as guides for engineers on how to make healthier products.

One by one, major banks are telling their credit card customers they can't use their plastic to purchase Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and Citigroup are no longer allowing transactions for digital currency with their credit cards, according to a report by Bloomberg News. Credit card issuers Capital One and Discover have also said no to crypto transactions.

In the UK, Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Halifax, MBNA, and Bank of Scotland, has issued a similar edict. The reasons for the prohibition are multifaceted.

Law enforcement concerns

Law enforcement agencies have expressed concerns over cryptocurrency transactions because most of them are untraceable. By the same token, banks worry that their credit cards could be used to launder money through purchases of digital currency.

Banks are also worried about an increase in credit card fraud. They fear an increase in stolen credit cards, which could then be used to make cryptocurrency purchases.

There is also the issue of consumers making ill-conceived, speculative purchases with their credit cards, only to have the value of what they bought fall significantly. Sort of like what has happened with Bitcoin.

As the value of Bitcoin skyrocketed to nearly $20,000 in 2017, tales of Bitcoin riches began to circulate online, with more people hoping to cash in.

But if a purchaser doesn’t have $20,000 in cash, they might have that much on their credit card credit limit. If they used their credit card to buy in when Bitcoin was at $17,000 they are now in trouble. The digital currency's value recently dipped below $8,000.

Wild West

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) represents non-profit credit counselors who help consumers get out from under massive credit card debt. NFCC vice president Bruce McClary believes the banks are making the right move.

"The world of cryptocurrency is like the wild west right now, with market volatility and fraud among the top concerns," McClary told ConsumerAffairs. "Bringing credit cards into the mix elevates the risk to both the borrower and the credit card issuer, so it makes better sense to keep the plastic out of the picture when considering an investment in this area."

On Wall Street, stocks are routinely purchased "on margin," meaning with borrowed money. Brokers loan investors the money to make stock purchases and typically charge around eight percent interest, securing the loan with the value of the brokerage account.

But when someone buys a cryptocurrency using a credit card, the loan is unsecured -- posing a big risk to the lender. Additionally, the borrower pays a credit card interest rate of 16 percent or more.

As a result, the highly-volatile cryptocurrency trading market poses huge risks to both the investor and the lender if cyptocurrencies are purchased using a credit card.