Current Events in December 2019

BMW of North America is recalling 74,185 model year 1999-2001 323i, 325i, 328i & 330i, and model year 2000-2001 323Ci, 325Ci, 328Ci, 330Ci, 323iT & 325iT vehicles with Non-Azide Driver airbag Inflators (NADI) manufactured by Takata.

The recalled vehicles may have received a replacement driver airbag as part of a vehicle repair. Due to a manufacturing issue, the replacement NADI inflator may absorb moisture, causing the inflator to rupture or the airbag cushion to underinflate.

In the event of a crash necessitating airbag deployment, an inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants.

An underinflated airbag may not properly protect the occupant.

Any of the above increase the risk of serious injury or death.

What to do

BMW will mail interim notices informing owners of the safety risk on January 17, 2020. Owners will receive a second notice when the remedy becomes available.

Dealers will inspect the driver airbag inflators and replace them, as necessary, free of charge.

Owners may contact BMW customer service at (800) 525-7417.

Tailor Cut Produce of New Jersey is recalling its Fruit luau, cut honeydew, cut cantaloupe and cut pineapple products.

The products may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Several patients have fallen ill in four hospitals in Pennsylvania.

The recalled fruit products were distributed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware between November 15 and December 1, 2019.

The recalled product, which comes in 2/1 gallon cases with a date of production stamped on the side, were distributed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware between November 15 and December 1, 2019.

What to do

Distributors who purchased the recalled products should quarantine them and call for further instructions.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at (732) 246-2002.

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) is recalling 2,427 model year 2019 G550 4MATICs and G63 AMGs.

The front door wiring harnesses may have been improperly routed causing damage to the individual wires during opening and closing of the front doors.

The damage to certain wires can affect safety features such as the side impact restraint system, the automatic unlocking of the door in the event of a crash, or the vehicle location in an emergency call.

All of these could increase the risk of an injury in a crash.

What to do

MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, modify, or replace the front door wiring harness in the event damage has occurred free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin January 14, 2020.

Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at (800) 367-6372.

A solid job market, rising wages, and falling gas prices may result in a record number of people traveling during the holidays.

In its annual forecast, AAA predicts more than 115 million people will travel by car, plane, boat, or train from December 21 through January 1, the most since AAA began issuing the forecast nearly two decades ago.

That would represent an increase of nearly 4 percent over last year’s holiday travel, leading to crowded terminals and highways. INRIX, a transportation analytics company, teamed with AAA to predict that the worst day for travel will be Thursday, December 26, with evening rush delays reaching nearly double the number of congestion-free drive times in major U.S. cities.

“Holiday cheer is at an all-time high this year, with unemployment at historically low levels, and noted improvements in both disposable income and household net worth,” said Paula Twidale, vice president, AAA Travel. “Travelers should be getting used to crowded highways and airports, as this marks the eighth straight year of new record-high travel volumes for the year-end holidays.”

Most travelers will go by car

AAA estimates that most travelers will go by car, with an estimated 104.8 million people driving to their holiday destinations. However, air travel may see the biggest increase in passengers on a percentage basis; holiday air travel is expected to grow by nearly 5 percent.

Airline passengers may have to pay more to rent a car when they arrive at their destinations. AAA’s Leisure Travel Index shows the daily average rental rate this Christmas and New Year’s will reach $84, 11 percent more than last year and the highest price in 10 years. 

Hotel rooms may also cost more, with AAA Three Diamond hotel prices up 1 percent to $153. AAA Two Diamond hotels will average $119, 2 percent less than last year.

Even travel by train, bus, and cruise ship will see a big increase during the holidays. An estimated 3.81 consumers are expected to use these modes of travel, 3 percent more than last year.

With so many more people on the nation’s highways during that two-week period, AAA said it expects its roadside assistance crews to remain busier than usual. It estimates it will have to come to the rescue of about 853,000 motorists during the holidays.

To reduce that number, AAA is recommending motorists have their vehicle’s serviced and checked out before heading out on a long road trip. And when you see a vehicle stopped on the shoulder, be sure to slow down and move into the other lane. That’s now a law in all 50 states.

AT&T has activated its 5G network in ten cities. The faster network is available to consumers with a Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G.

“Millions of consumers and businesses across Birmingham, Ala., Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Providence, R.I., Rochester, N.Y., San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose, Calif. market areas can now access AT&T’s 5G network using the Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G,” the carrier said in an announcement. 

AT&T was criticised earlier this year for rolling out a “5GE” network, which stood for “5G Evolution” and was essentially just upgraded LTE. The 5G network that was switched on today is actual 5G that uses low-band 850MHz spectrum technology. It’s similar to the 600MHz network that T-Mobile recently turned on. 

Nationwide expansion plans

AT&T added that “low-band 5G availability will continue to rapidly expand.” The cities slated to receive the network in the first half of 2020 include Boston, MA; Bridgeport, CT; Buffalo, NY; Las Vegas, NV; Louisville, KY; and New York City, with more to be added throughout the year. 

“We believe 5G technology will be game-changing, and we continue to help drive this next wave of innovation,” said Scott Mair, president of AT&T Technology Operations, in a statement. “We were the first in the U.S. to offer commercial mobile 5G, and this is the next step as we build to nationwide service in the first half of 2020.”

AT&T said its high-band spectrum -- 5G+, which is even faster than 5G -- will be coming at a “later date.” The carrier said 5G+ was designed to “serve high-traffic areas and places like arenas, campuses and more.” It’s currently offered in parts of 23 cities.

A coverage map of the current low-band 5G markets can be viewed here. 

Apple has promised to fix a vulnerability in one of the new parental control features released Tuesday in iOS 13.3. 

A feature called Communication Limits is supposed to prevent kids from communicating with people not in their contacts unless a parent enters a security passcode, but the safety feature can easily be bypassed if contacts aren’t stored in iCloud, according to a CNBC report. 

“Communication Limits does not work as advertised if contacts are not stored to iCloud by default,” CNBC found. 

After tapping on an incoming text from an unknown number, CNBC discovered that a "Restricted Contact" page appeared. However, the page could be bypassed by tapping on an “Add Contact” option. Selecting the option would give kids the ability to communicate with the person behind the number in question. 

In a statement, Apple said the issue “only occurs on devices set up with a non-standard configuration, and a workaround is available.” It added that it’s “working on a complete fix and will release it in an upcoming software update.” 

While Apple works on a fix, users can ensure the feature works properly by forcing contacts to sync with iCloud. This can be done by going into settings, navigating down to "Contacts," choosing "Default Account,” and changing it to iCloud. Alternatively, parents can set the device to “Downtime” mode to prevent kids from adding any new contacts. 

While cravings and junk food are hard to ignore during this time of year, a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Kansas found that consumers’ diet around the holidays could greatly affect their moods. 

Despite the excitement and holiday cheer, many consumers experience stress this time of year. The researchers found that monitoring sugar intake could be a good way to maintain a positive mood. 

“When we consume sweets, they act like a drug,” said researcher Stephen Ilardi. “They have an immediate mood-elevating effect, but in high doses they can also have a paradoxical, pernicious longer-term consequence of making mood worse, reducing well-being, elevating inflammation, and causing weight gain.” 

Monitoring sugar intake

The researchers analyzed data from several different studies, all of which analyzed participants eating habits and tracked their mood and overall mental health. 

In tracking participants’ lifestyles, they learned that the way the body processes sugar can often lead to mental health concerns. Recent studies have indicated that inflammation was at the heart of these negative side effects. 

The study revealed that the participants who consumed the highest levels of sugar were also more likely to have more inflammation throughout the body, and as a result, more depressive symptoms. 

However, the researchers also explained that the winter months often create a vicious cycle for many consumers when it comes to their mood. The shorter daytime hours can cause mood to plummet. When this happens, the body’s natural response is to crave sugar and carbs; however, as this study revealed, there’s more of a risk for depression symptoms setting in when more sugar is consumed. 

“So, we’ve got up to 30 percent of the population suffering from at least some symptoms of winter-onset depression, causing them to crave carbs -- and now they’re constantly confronted with holiday sweets,” said Ilardi. 

As holiday gatherings become more frequent in these final weeks of December, the researchers suggest consumers practice moderation when they near the dessert table, as doing so could help them boost their mental health during the holiday season and beyond.  

“There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to predicting exactly how any person’s body will react to any given food at any given dose,” said Ilardi. “As a conservative guideline, based on our current state of knowledge, there could be some risk associated with high-dose sugar intake -- probably anything above the American Heart Association guideline, which is 25 grams of added sugar per day.” 

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Thursday ruled in favor of McDonald’s in a case filed years ago by workers who sought to hold the company responsible for labor violations allegedly committed by its franchise locations. 

The case dates back five years, when individuals working in McDonald’s restaurants claimed they were fired or retaliated against for trying to unionize. On Thursday, the NLRB said it favors a settlement that will require McDonald's franchisees to pay $171,636 to the affected workers. 

“After nearly three years of proceedings, the General Counsel and McDonald’s USA, LLC presented a series of informal settlement agreements resolving all the alleged unfair labor practices,” the Board said in a press release. 

The agency said it has ordered an administrative law judge to approve the settlement, which it says “will provide a full remedy for all alleged substantive violations” without holding the company liable as “joint employer” with its franchisees.

McDonald’s pleased with the settlement

In a statement, the fast food giant said it was pleased with the decision and “appreciate[s] the efforts of the National Labor Relations Board and General Counsel [Peter] Robb to bring this multi-year litigation to an end.” 

“The settlement…allows our franchisees and their employees to move forward, and resolves all matters without any admission of wrongdoing,” McDonald’s said. “Additionally, current and former franchisee employees involved in the proceedings can now receive long overdue satisfaction of their claims.”

Fight for $15, a group working to unionize fast food workers in the U.S., said it intends to “forcefully appeal” the decision.

"The settlement is not valid. McDonald's is walking away with a get-out-of-jail-free card after illegally retaliating against low-paid workers who were fighting to be paid enough to feed their families," the group said.

Facebook has been in the crosshairs of lawmakers and regulators for months. Now, a report suggests the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is launching an antitrust investigation of the social media giant.

Specifically, The Wall Street Journal reports the FTC is concerned that Facebook is in the process of integrating Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger into its platform, making it almost impossible for regulators to eventually order a breakup on the company.

Facebook may be forcing regulators’ hand. Members of Congress, as well as regulatory agencies, have expressed misgivings about Facebook’s growing power and influence. There may be a concern that once other apps are integrated into the Facebook platform, it would make it much more difficult for Facebook to divest those assets.

According to the Journal’s report, a source said the FTC had not requested that Facebook stop the integration. It suggested the agency could file a legal challenge, requesting an injunction, as early as January.

The integration move is not new. In March, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company planned to integrate Facebook’s messenger service with other apps the company owns. A mixing of advertising across the platforms could also boost Facebook’s bottom line.

Increasing scrutiny

Large technology companies have come under increasing scrutiny in recent months over concerns about how they use consumers’ data, as well as how they guard users’ privacy. Facebook, as well as Google, are also under investigation by several state attorneys general.

Facebook has ended up in regulators’ dog house over the last couple of years, in part because of its difficulty in protecting user data. In April, cybersecurity firm UpGuard found that Facebook inadvertently uploaded millions of private user records to Amazon’s publicly accessible cloud computing servers.

Cultura Colectiva, one of two third-party Facebook app developers that stored user data on Amazon servers, had stored 146 gigabytes of data, including “names, passwords and email addresses” of Facebook users.

Facebook’s problems with Washington began in March 2018 when it revealed that a political marketing firm, Cambridge Analytica, had made unauthorized use of Facebook user data to target political ads.

Motorists planning holiday road trips will likely find stable fuel prices along the way, but prices are significantly higher than at this time last year.

The AAA Fuel Gauge Survey shows the national average of regular gasoline is $2.56 a gallon, two cents less than last week. But the price is 17 cents higher than it was a year ago. The price of premium gas is $3.17 a gallon, also two cents lower than last Friday. The average price of diesel fuel is $2.99 a gallon, down a penny from last Friday.

While prices have been slow to fall for several weeks, Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, says that could change quickly. In a Twitter post, DeHaan said the national average for regular could drop another eight cents a gallon by the holidays, thanks to rising fuel supplies and sluggish demand.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports total U.S. gasoline supplies rose by 5.4 million barrels last week, bringing the total stockpile to nearly 235 million barrels. At the same time, gasoline demand dropped from just over 9.0 million barrels a day to 8.8 million.

Though the national average gasoline price barely moved, consumers in most of the western states continued to see significant price declines. In California, the price fell 11 cents a gallon in the last seven days; it’s down 37 cents in the last month.

California no longer has the most expensive gas in the nation, but today it slipped into second place behind Hawaii. The cheapest gas in the nation is found in Mississippi.

The states with the most expensive regular gas

These states currently have the highest prices for regular gas, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Survey:

• California ($3.66)

• Hawaii ($3.66)

• Washington ($3.24) 

• Nevada ($3.18)

• Oregon ($3.10) 

• Alaska ($3.08)

• Arizona ($2.88)

• Idaho ($2.86) 

• Utah ($2.84)

• Pennsylvania ($2.78)

The states with the cheapest regular gas

The survey found these states currently have the lowest prices for regular gas:

• Mississippi ($2.22)

• Missouri ($2.23)

• Texas ($2.24)

• Oklahoma ($2.25)

• Louisiana ($2.25)

• Alabama ($2.26)

• Arkansas ($2.27)

• South Carolina ($2.28)

• Kansas ($2.29)

• Virginia ($2.29)

Ford Motor Company is recalling nearly 548,000 model year 2017-19 Ford Super Duty SuperCrew vehicles with carpet flooring.

A front seat belt pretensioner that deploys during a crash can generate excessive sparks.

In some cases, this could ignite the carpet or carpet insulation in the area of the B-pillar which may spread within the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury.

What to do

Ford will contact owners and dealers will apply foil tape to the carpet and carpet insulation and modify the sound deadener on the back side of the B-pillar trim panel.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-733. Ford's reference number for this recall is 19S52.

Profile Design of Carson, Calif., is recalling about 260 Aeria Ultimate carbon aerobars.

The bicycle aerobars can crack and break, causing the rider to lose control and crash.

The firm has received two reports of the bicycle aerobars cracking or breaking. No injuries reported.

This recall involves Profile Design Aeria Ultimate carbon aerobars sold individually and as an original equipment upgrade on consumer configurable Diamond Brand Bikes and Quintana Roo model bicycles.

The aerobars were sold in one size and are all matte black in color. “Profile Design” and “Ultimate” are embossed in gloss black on the top of the rear edge of the aerobars.

The best way to identify recalled handlebars is to measure the uncut hand extensions from the leading edge of wing to tip of hand extension (where brake lever is placed). On recalled bars it is 13.6 cm (5.3 in) measured from leading edge of wing.

The bicycle aerobars, manufactured in Taiwan, were sold at independent bicycle stores nationwide from May 2017, through October 2018, for about $1,300 for the aerobar sold individually or between $5,200 and $14,000 as original equipment on bicycles.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using bicycles with the recalled aerobars and contact Profile Design for instructions to receive a free replacement aerobar via their local retailer.

Consumers may contact Profile Design toll-free at (888) 800-5999 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PT) Monday through Friday, by email AeriaUltimateRecall@profile-design.com or online at www.profile-design.com and click on “Recall Notices” at the bottom of the page for more information.

Facial recognition has become a rather touchy subject. Earlier this year, a $35 billion class action lawsuit was filed against Facebook over claims that it harvested consumer biometric data without consent. In San Francisco, the subject is so ripe that the city is considering banning all facial recognition technology within city limits. 

The U.S. government thinks it’s a touchy subject, too. First, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) explored facial recognition and recommended that certain companies “provide consumers with an easy-to-use choice not to have their biometric data collected and used for facial recognition.” Now, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is following suit by rolling back its intended expansion of facial recognition in a renewed commitment to protecting traveler privacy.

The changes

Currently, by law, Customs and Border Patrol* (CBP) is required to biometrically record foreign nationals’ entry to and departure from the United States. That mandate came out of the 9/11 Commission, which decided that a system like that was “an essential investment in our national security.” (*U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the DHS agency that manages, controls, and protects U.S. borders at ports of entry.)

But on the consumer side of the privacy ledger, going that far may have been overarching. After three face-to-face meetings with privacy experts to determine how far is too far in using “biometric facial comparison” process at U.S. ports of entry, DHS has made four key moves in what it says is the best interest of the traveler. These include:

• Reducing the maximum period it retains new photos of U.S. citizens from 14 days to 12 hours; 

• Establishing rigid requirements which guarantee that airlines and other travel-related partners do not retain traveler photos for their own business purposes;

• Working with all travel-related partners to give travelers adequate privacy notice by improving the signage and announcements at departure gates; and

• Publishing 10 Privacy Impact Assessments to let the public know how DHS will collect, use, and store any and all personally identifiable information that’s part of the biometric process.

“CPB is committed to keeping the public informed about our use of facial comparison technology,” commented John Wagner, Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner of the CBP Office of Field Operations. “We are implementing a biometric entry-exit system that protects the privacy of all travelers while making travel more secure and convenient.”

Potential to expose consumer data

While DHS’ intentions seem to be all well and good, security experts say that the potential for exposing personal data still looms large when it’s in the government’s hands.

“Despite these efforts, the government’s collection of its citizens’ biometric identity data is troubling for many especially since agencies already have mishandled the security of stored data,” writes ThreatPost’s Elizabeth Montalbano.

“In June, for instance, a data leak at the CBP exposed photos of the faces and license plates for more than 100,000 travelers that passed through checkpoints on the U.S.-Mexican border. The Office of Personnel Management also experienced a significant data breach in 2015 that resulted in the theft of fingerprint data of 5.6 million people.”

Should consumers be concerned?

Is facial recognition so hot of a potato that consumers need to run as fast and as far away from it as they can? When we put the privacy concerns question to David Chen, Co-Founder and Director of Engineering at Orbbec, he said no.

“Now, with the assistance of 3D camera technology, the accuracy of facial recognition has been dramatically improved and is capable of handling financial-grade security to make your devices more secure,” Chen told ConsumerAffairs. 

“While some people may still hold serious privacy concerns, actually they can rest assured knowing that all the face data will be stored as encrypted mathematical models and any applications that use facial recognition software will only be able to keep that encrypted data locally to ensure maximum privacy protection.”

If that’s not enough to put you at ease, consumers should know that they have the right to opt out of the biometric facial comparison process, and all it takes is notifying a CBP officer or airline representative. In lieu of that, anyone who opts out does have to present their passport for visual inspection.

YouTube announced on Wednesday that it’s implementing a more stringent harassment policy in an effort to reduce the prevalence of hate speech and threats on its platform. 

The Google-owned video streaming giant said it will be removing videos that insult people based on race, gender, or sexual orientation, regardless of whether the victim is a private individual or well-known YouTube creator. 

YouTube said explicit threats, even those that are “veiled or implied,” will not be allowed on the site. Additionally, channels that exhibit a pattern of harassing behavior are subject to removal. 

“Channels that repeatedly brush up against our harassment policy will be suspended from the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), eliminating their ability to make money on YouTube,” the company said in a blog post. “We may also remove content from channels if they repeatedly harass someone. If this behavior continues, we’ll take more severe action including issuing strikes or terminating a channel altogether.” 

Cracking down on hateful comments

YouTube also said that almost all content creators now have the ability to review potentially harmful comments. 

“Beyond comments that we remove, we also empower creators to further shape the conversation on their channels and have a variety of tools that help,” YouTube said. “When we're not sure a comment violates our policies, but it seems potentially inappropriate, we give creators the option to review it before it's posted on their channel.” 

YouTube said channels that enabled the feature when it was first introduced saw a 75 percent reduction in user flags on comments. The feature is expected to be extended to most channels by the end of 2019. 

The enactment of a tougher harassment policy on YouTube comes a few months after conservative comedian Stephen Crowder repeatedly mocked a progressive journalist based on his homosexuality and Latino background. The company said at the time that Crowder didn’t technically violate YouTube’s policies, but later it responded to the matter by stripping Crowder of his ability to make money off of ads.

YouTube says its tougher position on harassment is intended to create a healthier environment for users to share their ideas and opinions.   

"Harassment hurts our community by making people less inclined to share their opinions and engage with each other," wrote Matt Halprin, YouTube's global head of trust and safety.   

On the heels of the launch of Disney+, Netflix appears to be mulling a change to its pricing plan options. A new, cheaper pricing plan is currently being tested in India, Reuters reports. 

Under the plan, new and existing subscribers who pay for a full year of the service can save 50 percent. Those who sign up for six months or three months of the service get 30 percent and 20 percent discounts, respectively.

When applied to the most expensive plan in the U.S. (the Premium plan), consumers would end up paying $7.99 per month if they opted for a one-time payment of $95.94. The Premium plan currently costs $15.99 per month.

"We believe that our members may value the flexibility that comes from being able to pay for a few months at once. As always, this is a test and we will only introduce it more broadly if people find it useful," a spokeswoman for Netflix India told Reuters. 

Competitive pricing

Although Netflix has said it’s not worried about competition from Disney+, the introduction of an alternative pricing option on Netflix would allow it to offer similar pricing when compared to its streaming service rival. 

Disney’s new service costs just $6.99 per month, or $5.83 for those who pay for a full year of Disney+ access. The service garnered more than 10 million subscribers at launch and could hit as many as 20 million subscribers by the end of the year, according to recent estimates from Credit Suisse.