The Connecticut legislature passed a series of consumer protection bills backed by Attorney General William Tong. The legislation modernizes anti-robocall laws, requires all-in pricing for ticket sales, prohibits post-cancellation cable billing charges, and enhances geolocation data breach notification requirements. The bills now await Governor Ned Lamont's signature.
In-house legal teams should review vendor and customer agreements across multiple sectors impacted by this legislation. For telecommunications and marketing vendor contracts, examine clauses governing automated calls/texts (robocalls) to ensure compliance with modernized statutes covering new technologies. For ticketing platform agreements, review pricing disclosure clauses to mandate 'all-in' pricing that includes all mandatory fees upfront. For cable service provider contracts, scrutinize billing terms to prohibit charges after service cancellation. For any agreement involving location-based services or apps, assess data processing and consent clauses related to geolocation data, and update breach notification procedures to cover this specific data type. Required changes may involve adding specific compliance representations, modifying pricing display requirements, eliminating post-termination fee language, and enhancing data security incident response plans for location data.
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Connecticut
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://portal.ct.gov/ag/press-releases/2023-press-releases/attorney-general-tong-praises-passage-of-legislation-to-strengthen-connecticut-consumer-protections
attorney general tong praises passage of legislation to stre
https://portal.ct.gov/ag/press-releases/2023-press-releases/attorney-general-tong-praises-passage-of-legislation-to-strengthen-connecticut-consumer-protections
Connecticut Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Privacy/Privacy-Resources
$2.0M
Attorney General Tong and a coalition of four other states and the FTC sued Zillow and Redfin after Zillow paid Redfin $100 million to shut down its multifamily rental advertising business and transfer clients to Zillow. The settlement requires the companies to restore competition, with Redfin rebuilding its apartment advertising business, and pay $2 million to the coalition.
Attorney General William Tong sent a letter to the Connecticut Insurance Department urging rejection of double-digit rate increases sought by Anthem, ConnectiCare, and UnitedHealthcare for individual and small group health insurance plans covering about 220,000 people. The letter argues the rates exceed inflationary measures and criticizes the carriers for failing to control costs and for poor claims system management, particularly ConnectiCare's transition to Molina Healthcare.
$275K
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a $275,000 settlement with TaxAct, an online tax preparation company, over allegations that between January 2018 and December 2022, TaxAct improperly disclosed detailed customer financial information to Meta and Google through third-party tracking technologies without notifying taxpayers. The settlement requires TaxAct to pay $275,000 and implement new third-party tracking compliance measures, including a review committee, written policies, a tag monitoring system, and two independent third-party audits.
$4.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and the Federal Trade Commission announced a $4 million settlement with Manchester City Nissan (Chase Nissan LLC) resolving allegations that the dealership double-charged for 'certified pre-owned' vehicles and collected unauthorized junk fees. The settlement requires payment for consumer redress, prohibits misrepresentations, mandates clear disclosure of the maximum total price, and requires express informed consent for all charges.
Attorney General Tong and a coalition of 21 attorneys general and Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Transportation, FMCSA, and DHS to block demands for the personal information of 17 million CDL drivers. The lawsuits allege violations of federal privacy laws and the Administrative Procedure Act, and seek an emergency order to prevent the data transfer.
Attorney General William Tong and a coalition of 10 attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging a new OCC rule that preempts state laws requiring national banks to pay interest on homeowners' mortgage escrow accounts. The lawsuit argues the OCC ignored federal court decisions and bypassed safeguards, and seeks to block the rule.