Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 249 posts

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#21

Post by MrQuincle »

rgbrenner wrote: post #17
peterlk wrote: post #4

Pure speculation ahead: Suppose for a moment that the Equifax hack was carried out by a nation-state (like, say, North Korea). This is not an issue of consumer trust and safety. It is an issue of national (US) security and safety. To give another analogy, imagine that in 1920, the Canadian military marched over the border and robbed some banks. Does it make sense for the patrons of that bank to be able to sue the ban…

That is not an apt analogy. The resources of a nation state were not required to hack equifax.. a kid with a laptop could have done it. This is a consumer trust and safety issue because basic care was not taken to protect the data that Equifax was trusted with guarding. If it turns out that a nation state is the one that carried out the hack.. then that's a national security issue AND a consumer trust and safety issu…

Indeed. Just imagine the US uses Post-Its as bank notes.

To blame a foreign nation for printing your money is then not the right action. You'll have to look inwards.

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#22

Post by lostdog »

self_assembly wrote: post #18

This is probably a dumb question but I would appreciate a serious answer. How am I considered a consumer of Equifax? Aren't the consumers the people that use Equifax to check my credit? When did I ever enter into an agreement with Equifax that binds me to arbitration?

Did you freeze or lock your credit with Equifax? Have you ever checked your credit report with Equifax so you knew it would be in advance?

Congratulations. You no longer have access to the court system.

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#23

Post by JumpCrisscross »

jonny_eh wrote: post #14
ngold wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the banks left all their customers money protected by a wind screen door that was accessible in the alley, I think suing could be justified.

And if the banks had your money, even though you never gave it to them.

> even though you never gave it to them

You can argue you were coerced into giving it to them. But at the end of the day, you signed bank and credit card and employment agreements that let your information be transmitted.

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#24

Post by forapurpose »

Haydos585x2 wrote: post #3

Like they say in the article it looks like Equifax was only stopping clients from joining a class action against TrustedID. It also doesn't say anything about people suing individually. I suppose we can expect to see every company now put this into their terms and conditions, which is certainly a step back in consumer rights.

> It also doesn't say anything about people suing individually.

Lawsuits are very expensive and time-consuming. Few individuals have the resources to sue companies like Equifax. Also, if Equifax defrauds 10 million people of $1,000 each, that's $10 billion in fraud but zero penalty, because $1,000 isn't worth a lawsuit for any individual.

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#25

Post by astura »

aussieguy1234 wrote: post #20
peterlk wrote: post #4

Pure speculation ahead: Suppose for a moment that the Equifax hack was carried out by a nation-state (like, say, North Korea). This is not an issue of consumer trust and safety. It is an issue of national (US) security and safety. To give another analogy, imagine that in 1920, the Canadian military marched over the border and robbed some banks. Does it make sense for the patrons of that bank to be able to sue the ban…

Equifax knew they were running a vulnerable version of Apache tomcat. To not fix it is pure incompetence, like a bank leaving it's doors unlocked overnight. What did they expect to happen?

Apache Struts, not Tomcat.

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#26

Post by [deleted] »

rgbrenner wrote: post #17
peterlk wrote: post #4

Pure speculation ahead: Suppose for a moment that the Equifax hack was carried out by a nation-state (like, say, North Korea). This is not an issue of consumer trust and safety. It is an issue of national (US) security and safety. To give another analogy, imagine that in 1920, the Canadian military marched over the border and robbed some banks. Does it make sense for the patrons of that bank to be able to sue the ban…

That is not an apt analogy. The resources of a nation state were not required to hack equifax.. a kid with a laptop could have done it. This is a consumer trust and safety issue because basic care was not taken to protect the data that Equifax was trusted with guarding. If it turns out that a nation state is the one that carried out the hack.. then that's a national security issue AND a consumer trust and safety issu…

[deleted]

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#27

Post by mtgx »

peterlk wrote: post #4

Pure speculation ahead: Suppose for a moment that the Equifax hack was carried out by a nation-state (like, say, North Korea). This is not an issue of consumer trust and safety. It is an issue of national (US) security and safety. To give another analogy, imagine that in 1920, the Canadian military marched over the border and robbed some banks. Does it make sense for the patrons of that bank to be able to sue the ban…

There should be such thing as "gross negligence" when it comes to security. If believe it applies to companies managing "critical infrastructure".

But, fortunately for Equifax, companies that manage social security numbers haven't been declared critical infrastructure. If they were, I'm sure Equifax could have been found guilty of gross negligence.

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#29

Post by hyolaris »

This only highlights the moral emptiness and naked corruption of the modern GOP.

Deregulation is fine if you strengthen the ability of citizens to obtain redress through the judicial system. If you weaken that ability, or it is weakened, you increase regulation.

But they're both deregulating and restricting judicial redress, which only increases power of those who don't need it.

Companies either are liable or not; these clauses preventing class action lawsuits seem baseless to me.

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#30

Post by unchocked »

iamleppert wrote: post #19
peterlk wrote: post #4

Pure speculation ahead: Suppose for a moment that the Equifax hack was carried out by a nation-state (like, say, North Korea). This is not an issue of consumer trust and safety. It is an issue of national (US) security and safety. To give another analogy, imagine that in 1920, the Canadian military marched over the border and robbed some banks. Does it make sense for the patrons of that bank to be able to sue the ban…

The way to get better security is to let the free market system work as its intended: Equifax should die a painful death by the masses, if necessary piecemeal one lawsuit at a time until the company coffers have been emptied (and preferably any directors, agents, vested entities, and anyone else within a legally-defensible stone's throw). It may sound harsh, but that's life and life ain't fair. That's the only way to…

Your claim sounds good the way you put it, but less so when you consider that retributive justice seems ineffectual at deterring violent crime... unless you're also going to claim that shitty companies are generally smarter than felons.
Post reply on HN