Posted inLawsuits

USC Learns the Hard Way

A close-up of a stack of colorful hardcover books arranged with their spines facing left. The book colors include shades of blue, red, green, and yellow. The background is softly blurred, emphasizing the focus on the books.
Institution of higher learning?

A recent lawsuit filed against the University of Southern California (USC) and 2U, Inc., a publicly traded company, alleges that the institution of higher education provided limited information and statistics to U.S. News & World Report. In order to draw in prospective students to online programs, USC presented favorable rankings, which were only accurate for one in-person program. According to the lawsuit, USC has established a history of supplying misleading information to U.S. News & World Report and allegedly withheld data that might have influenced a lesser rank. USC is placing blame on the dean of the Rossier School of Education.

2 minutes
Posted inSettlements

Can’t Makeup This Violation

A tube of pink lipstick with a metallic and dark brown casing sits open on a white background. The detached cap lies nearby, showcasing the lipstick brand's name engraved on it.
Glossing over guidelines

California is home to one of the most rigid consumer privacy laws in the country. Originally passed in 2018 and later intensified in 2020, the law affords consumers the right to know the extent of information collected by companies online, the ability to have that private data deleted, and the capability to refuse the sale of their information to third party entities. The strength of this law led to the $1.2 million settlement of a civil suit, which pinned the cosmetics company, Sephora Inc., of violating consumer rights. The company failed to comply with the law and allegedly sold customer information without consent.

2 minutes
Posted inLawsuits

Searching for Resolution

A person typing on a laptop with a blurred computer screen in the background. The image focuses on the hands and keyboard, suggesting a work or study environment.
Just Google it

Google may list an additional antitrust lawsuit to its resume of accomplishments, as three states and the District of Columbia have filed claims, alleging that the technology company deceived users into believing that they could disable location tracking functions. Despite viewing the message that “You can turn off Location History at any time. With Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored,” Google users were apparently tricked into revealing more of their data. From 2014 to 2019, Google used the collected data for advertising purposes and profited from the deception.

2 minutes