Aug. 18: CFPB Updates This Week
The United States has a long history of recognizing the sanctity of protecting against unwanted intrusions into our homes and our lives. During a White House Roundtable today, Director Chopra announced that the CFPB will be developing rules to prevent misuse and abuse by data brokers that track, collect, and monetize information about people. Many of these firms assemble data to feed “artificial intelligence” (AI) that makes decisions about our daily lives.
After conducting a public inquiry into data brokers and assessing today’s uses of AI that are often powered by data from the surveillance industry, the CFPB will be issuing proposed rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to address business practices used by companies that assemble and monetize our data.
Small businesses interested in participating as a panelist should contact the CFPB within the next week: CFPB_consumerreporting_rulemaking@cfpb.gov.
What we’re hearing from consumers in New Mexico
New Mexicans submitted complaints about credit reporting, debt collection, and other products. This week, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra will visit Gallup and Albuquerque, New Mexico, to meet with elected officials, tribal leaders, community leaders, and consumer advocates to discuss issues New Mexicans are facing—particularly issues related to medical debt and junk fees.
The CFPB’s public Consumer Complaint Database lends valuable insights into these subjects. Since 2011, the CFPB has published more than 11,600 complaints from New Mexicans. Mirroring nationwide trends, complaints about credit reporting make up most of these complaints (42%), followed by debt collection (17%) and mortgage (13%) (Figure 1). New Mexicans also submit complaints about debt collection, mortgage, credit cards and checking or savings at greater rates than all consumers. Read more