Audit of Grand Canyon University Fails to Find Wrongdoing amid the Institution’s Legal Battle with the Biden Administration

Grand Canyon University campus

A recent risk-based audit of Grand Canyon University conducted by the Arizona State Approving Agency (SAA) for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs did not “show any findings” related to the institution’s doctoral disclosures, which have been targeted by the Biden administration’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) through a $37.7 million fine.

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AG Kris Mayes Backs Federal Rule Prohibiting Controversial ‘Junk Fees’ Brought to Light by Artist Taylor Swift

Kris Mayes

Attorney General Kris Mayes is in support of a crackdown on “junk fees.”

Junk fees are added charges that are typically not shown until a purchase is right about to be made, and it may not serve a clear purpose. The Federal Trade Commission is pushing for a Trade Regulation Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees in order to prevent companies employing the controversial practice.

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Biden Admin Targets Largest Christian University in U.S.

Grand Canyon University campus

The Biden administration’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking aim at the largest Christian university in the U.S. in a new lawsuit.

Grand Canyon University (GCU) is the largest Christian university in the U.S. with over 100,000 students enrolled and over 85,000 online students as of fall 2022, according to their website. The FTC alleges that GCU engaged in deceptive business practices with its doctoral programs and that it also engaged in illegal telemarketing practices, according to the federal complaint filed in the District of Arizona.

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Commentary: The Need for Federal Legislation Requiring Age Verification for Porn Websites

Teenager Laptop

Nearly 80% of children between the ages of 12 and 17 have unintentionally come across pornography, and over 50% of them actively seek it out. Even among younger children—those between 9 and 11—37% have seen porn.

Frequent exposure to pornography at a young age cultivates unhealthy views of sexuality and an inclination toward violent behavior. Children may develop a poor understanding of what constitutes a healthy relationship, what behavior is appropriate or inappropriate, how to establish and maintain boundaries, and the importance of respecting other people’s boundaries.

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Biden Administration Agency Turns to Soros and Other Billionaires for Key Police Roles

One agency in the Biden Administration has actively, albeit subtly, been turning to multiple groups funded by far-left billionaire George Soros in order to serve crucial roles in policy and enforcement.

According to Fox News, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been pulling individuals from the same network of progressive advocacy groups for various positions, with these groups all being funded by Soros and a handful of other left-wing billionaires. One such group is Governing for Impact (GFI), which has been bankrolled by Soros’ notorious Open Society Foundation, and with which the administration has been working behind the scenes on key agenda items.

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U.S. Regulators Sue Amazon for Allegedly Inflating Prices Through Monopoly

The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general sued Amazon on Tuesday for allegedly using its power as a monopoly to illegally block competition and inflate prices.

“The complaint alleges that Amazon violates the law not because it is big, but because it engages in a course of exclusionary conduct that prevents current competitors from growing and new competitors from emerging,” the FTC said in an announcement about the complaint against Amazon. 

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Tennessee AG Skrmetti Joins New Initiative Attempting to Crack Down on Illegal Telemarketing Calls

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced Tuesday his office has joined a new, joint state and federal initiative to crack down on illegal telemarketing calls to U.S. consumers.

Skrmetti’s office joined the Operation Stop Scam Calls intuitive, a partnership with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), law enforcement agencies nationwide, and attorneys general from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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House Judiciary Committee Questions Zuckerberg on Potential Censorship on Threads

The House Judiciary Committee on Monday sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg asking questions about possible censorship occurring on Threads, Meta’s latest social media platform.

“Given that Meta has censored First Amendment-protected speech as a result of government agencies’ requests and demands in the past, the Committee is concerned about potential First Amendment violations that have occurred or will occur on the Threads platform,” Committee chairman Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, wrote in the letter.

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Federal Trade Commission Sues Amazon for ‘Deceptive’ Tactics

The Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon on Wednesday alleging the online retailer used “manipulative, coercive, or deceptive” practices to get customers to enroll in Prime subscriptions.

The Federal Trade Commission’s partially-redacted complaint alleges the company tricked millions of people into enrolling in Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime, a $139 annual subscription service that has fueled the company’s growth and made it part of many Americans daily routines.

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Ohio Pro-Life Group Responds to Rep. Sykes’ Legislation Penalizing Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers

An Ohio Pro-Life group, Ohio Right to Life, responded on Friday to a piece of legislation introduced by U.S. Congresswoman Emilia Sykes (D-OH-13) that aims to penalize pro-life pregnancy resource centers while encouraging more violence and vandalism towards them.

On Thursday, Sykes introduced the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation (SAD) Act which directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “prohibit unfair or deceptive advertising related to the provision of abortion services and authorizes the FTC to enforce these rules and collect penalties from organizations in violation.”

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Federal Trade Commission Sues Microsoft to Block Activision Blizzard Deal

The Federal Trade Commission filed suit Thursday against Microsoft Corp. to block it from acquiring Activision Blizzard Inc., publisher of the “Call of Duty” games.

The FTC alleges the largest acquisition in the video gaming industry would allow Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its subscription content and cloud-gaming business.

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Ohio Lawmakers Aim for Strict Rules for ‘Clean Energy’ Lending Programs

Ohio lawmakers will consider this far adding consumer protections to “clean energy” lending programs in a response to concerns that they can burden vulnerable homeowners.

Last year, a statewide clean-energy lending program stalled prior to making any loans. Republican lawmakers aim to add protections for consumers in the instance the program resurfaces.

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Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan Demands Biden Admin Show Compliance with Landmark Energy Decision

Republican Ranking House Judiciary Committee Member Jim Jordan told Biden administration authorities Tuesday to show how their agencies are obeying the Supreme Court’s June West Virginia v. EPA decision limiting the EPA’s power to unilaterally regulate emissions.

The court ruled in West Virginia v. EPA that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could not set carbon dioxide emissions caps for power plants to force a national transition away from coal power without explicit congressional authorization. Jordan sent letters to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Kathi Vidal, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan asking whether their agencies are complying with the decision.

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Thousands of Virginian Servicemembers Eligible for Restitution, Debt Forgiveness After Alleged Fraud by Harris Jewelry

Some Virginian servicemembers are set to get restitution and debt forgiveness after Harris Jewelry allegedly targeted the military community with deceptive and fraudulent practices. Attorney General Jason Miyares announced a multi-state settlement that will provide up to about $1 million for 3,828 Virginians who received protection plans, and $1.7 million in debt forgiveness for 1,011 Virginians.

“Harris Jewelry targeted our military community, misleading, deceiving, and defrauding thousands of active duty servicemembers through their financing program. Our servicemembers are critical to the American experiment, dedicating their lives to the protection of our freedoms and way of life. I’m grateful we were able to reach an agreement and provide relief to thousands of Virginians,” Miyares said in a Wednesday press release.

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Senate Confirms Biden’s ‘Radical’ FTC Pick Criticized for Anti-ICE Stance

The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm President Joe Biden’s nominee Alvaro Bedoya to the empty fifth seat on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The 50-50 Senate vote was broken with a tie breaking vote by Vice President Kamala Harris, and gives Democrats a 3-2 advantage at the FTC. Bedoya, who is professor at Georgetown Law, was previously criticized by Senate Republicans for his past comments on social media and in other outlets opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after President Joe Biden announced his nomination.

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Virginian TurboTax Customers to Get $3.5 Million in Settlement of Lawsuit over Claims That the Product Was Free

Virginia TurboTax customers are set to get about $3.5 million in a settlement of the lawsuit, which said that the tax service provider deceived some consumers into paying for services despite ads saying tax services were free.

“TurboTax took advantage of and deceived Virginians. I’m proud of the role my office played to secure substantial relief for the Virginia consumers that TurboTax misled. My office will continue to aggressively go after bad actors that hurt Virginia consumers, because they must be held accountable,” Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a Wednesday announcement.

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Amazon and Facebook Spent More Money Than Ever Lobbying in 2021

Amazon and Facebook parent company Meta spent more money in 2021 lobbying lawmakers and officials than any year before, according to lobbying disclosure filings.

Amazon spent $20.3 million on lobbying while Meta spent $20.1 million in 2021, according to a review of lobbying disclosure filings by MarketWatch. The figures are record totals for both tech companies, who spent $18.9 million and $19.7 million on lobbying in 2020, respectively.

Google’s lobbying spend for 2021 clocked in at $11.5 million, while Microsoft spent $10.3 million and Apple spent $6.5 million, according to MarketWatch’s review.

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Biden Asks Asian Countries to Release Oil Reserves as Administration Scrambles to Combat High Gas Prices: Report

Joe Biden

The Biden administration asked China, Japan, South Korea and India to tap into their emergency oil reserves as the president continues to grapple with rising gasoline prices, Reuters reported.

The effort to simultaneously release oil reserves represents a rebuke of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the cartel that controls oil production throughout the Middle East, several anonymous sources familiar with the request told Reuters on Wednesday. OPEC has repeatedly rejected requests from President Joe Biden and other top administration officials to increase oil production amid rising gasoline prices.

The four Asian nations the president appealed to represent some of the largest energy consumers and greenhouse gas emitters, according to a University of Oxford database.

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White House Says Higher Gas Prices Show Need for Green Transition

White House press secretary Jen Psaki argued that higher gasoline prices, which critics blame the Biden administration for, highlight the need for a rapid transition to clean energy.

“Our view is that the rise in gas prices over the long term makes an even stronger case for doubling down our investment and our focus on clean energy options so we are not relying on the fluctuations and OPEC and their willingness to put more supply and meet the demand in the market,” Psaki told reporters during Friday’s press briefing.

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Democrats’ Spending Bill Creates a ‘Privacy Bureau’ with a $500 Million ‘War Chest’

A provision in the most recent version of the Democrats’ spending proposal allocates $500 million for a privacy bureau within the Federal Trade Commission, with little guidance on how the money is to be spent.

The bill, known as the Build Back Better Act, appropriates $500 million for fiscal year 2022 to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “create and operate a bureau” tasked with protecting data privacy.

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Facebook Is Under Government Investigation over Leaked Documents

Facebook is being investigated over leaked company documents and allegations by a former employee, according to financial filings.

The company’s 10-Q form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday mentions that Facebook is “subject to government investigations and requests” seemingly related to documents leaked by former Facebook employee Frances Haugen that detail tech giant’s business practices and internal research.

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FTC Memo Details Plans to Combat ‘Root Causes’ of Big Tech Dominance

An internal memo published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Thursday detailed Chairwoman Lina Khan’s vision for antitrust enforcement, including plans to target several of Big Tech’s business practices.

The memo, sent to FTC commissioners and staff, titled “Vision and Priorities for the FTC,” outlined several key antitrust enforcement areas Khan sought to prioritize, including addressing “root causes” of monopolies, considering the harm of anticompetitive conduct on workers and other businesses, and focusing on “next-generation technologies.” Although Khan did not identify any of the major tech companies by name, she highlighted several allegedly anti-competitive business practices that have been the subject of tech antitrust litigation.

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Law Professor Accuses University of Violating Federal Trade Commission Rules with Mask Mandate

A business law professor who has been put on paid leave for refusing to wear a mask in class is defending his actions with an unexpected authority: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

“[B]y requiring employees to wear a mask, you are promoting the idea that the mask can prevent or treat a disease, which is an illegal deceptive practice,” David Clements, who teaches consumer law at New Mexico State University (NMSU), told provost Carol Parker in a Sept. 13 letter.

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Arizona U.S. Senate Candidate Blake Masters’ Plans to Tackle Big Tech’s ‘Predatory’ Business Practices

Woman in a red suit on Smartphone

Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters wants to break up Big Tech and ban their business practices he believes are harmful.

“I think Republicans need to reacquaint themselves with their history of antitrust enforcement, and realize huge concentrations of power in private hands can violate people’s liberties just as much as government,” Masters said in an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Masters, who announced his candidacy in July, serves as chief operating officer at investment firm Thiel Capital and runs the Thiel Foundation, a philanthropic organization founded by billionaire investor and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. He competes in a crowded Republican primary with fellow candidate and current Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich for the chance to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in 2022.

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U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett Files Legislation to Protect Americans’ Genetic Information from Chinese Communist Party

U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) this week introduced legislation that aims to protect the genetic information Americans’ share with genetic testing companies from being sold to entities affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Burchett, in an emailed press release, called his legislation the American Genetic Privacy Act of 2021.

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Missouri US Representatives, Hawley Push Probes, Bills Targeting Meatpacking Industry

There are more than 95,000 farms in Missouri with the Show Me State placing among the nation’s top 10 in terms of beef, chicken and pork production, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

But consolidation within the meatpacking industry – four firms (JBS, Tyson, Cargill, National Beef) control more than 80% of all the beef slaughtered in the United States – has long frustrated Missouri producers.

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Commentary: Break Up Big Tech Before It’s Too Late

With the rise of populist and bipartisan resentment against Big Tech monopolies along with the recent appointment of Big Tech opponent Lina Khan as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, government action against these companies seems imminent. People are waking up to the fact that they have way too much power and are a threat to the American way of life.

As if on cue, prominent conservatives have come to the defense of these monopolies. Most recently, Robert Bork Jr. argued in National Review that breaking up Big Tech would lead to “a slippery slope to the end of capitalism and the rise of political management of the economy.” He agrees with conservatives such as Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who says, “These [anti-monopoly] bills give power to the FTC, the new commissioner we all know is radically left.”

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Commentary: The Federal Trade Commission Shouldn’t Be a Lawless Agency

The Federal Trade Commission has been on the march.  Over the past month, the Commission has held two “open” meetings, rescinded two major bipartisan agreements by party-line vote, and positioned itself to write regulations for the first time in decades.

In the words of a former commissioner, the current FTC is “Icarus flying without the constraints of history, economics, or law.”  He predicts that its “regulatory overreach…will end with the FTC’s wings melting in the courts.”

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Facebook Files Petition Demanding FTC Chair Lina Khan Recuse Herself From Antitrust Case

Lina Khan Facebook Headquarters

Facebook filed a petition Wednesday asking for Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan to recuse herself from the FTC’s antitrust case against the company.

The tech giant argued in the petition that Khan’s public statements, in which she suggested Facebook’s conduct constituted an antitrust offense, violated the company’s due process rights.

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Biden’s Executive Order Targets Big Tech, Urges FCC to Restore Net Neutrality

Joe Biden

President Joe Biden is taking aim at Big Tech and Big Telecom’s growing power with a new executive order that will add regulations and facilitate competition within the industries.

The order, which Biden is expected to sign Friday, includes over 70 provisions, all aimed at promoting competition within tech and telecom, both of which have become more monopolistic in recent years.

It encourages the Federal Trade Commission to overhaul its rules regarding personal data collection and bans unfair competition practices online, according to a White House fact sheet. It also calls for more scrutiny when examining potential corporate mergers, especially when a larger corporation acquires a smaller one or when it could affect customers’ privacy or competition within the sector.

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Amazon Demands Recusal of Federal Trade Commission Chair from Any Antitrust Investigations

Federal Trade Commission

Tech giant Amazon recently demanded that the chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission be recused from any antitrust investigations into the company, according to the Daily Caller.

Amazon filed the petition with the FTC on Wednesday, accusing Chairwoman Lina Khan of being biased due to the fact that she “has, on numerous occasions, argued that Amazon is guilty of antitrust violations and should be broken up.” The petition continued by declaring that “these statements convey to any reasonable observer the clear impression that she has already made up her mind about many material facts relevant to Amazon’s antitrust culpability as well as about the ultimate issue of culpability itself.”

The FTC is already conducting several antitrust investigations, including against Amazon; their most recent efforts are focusing on Amazon’s possible acquisition of the film studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), a purchase of nearly $9 billion announced last month.

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Justice Dept. Files Landmark Antitrust Case Against Google

The Justice Department on Tuesday sued Google for antitrust violations, alleging that it abused its dominance in online search and advertising to stifle competition and harm consumers.

The lawsuit marks the government’s most significant attempt to protect competition since its groundbreaking case against Microsoft more than 20 years ago. It could be an opening salvo ahead of other major government antitrust actions, given ongoing investigations of major tech companies including Apple, Amazon and Facebook at both the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.

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ANALYSIS: DOJ Investigators Involved in Antitrust Probe Don’t Appear to be Scrutinizing Claims of Bias in Google’s Search

by Peter Hasson and Chris White   Department of Justice investigators who are conducting an antitrust probe targeting Google do not appear to be scrutinizing claims that the tech giant manipulates its search function, leaks about the probe and a source familiar with it indicate. Google critics argue that Google Search must be a focus of the investigation, pointing to the company’s sheer dominance in the market: Google consistently accounts for roughly 90% of online information searches, and company employees have expressed a willingness to artificially manipulate search results on the platform. Google did not comment on allegations of search bias, or on the pending antitrust investigation. “We continue to engage with the ongoing investigations led by the Department of Justice and Attorney General Paxton, and we don’t have any updates or comments on speculation,” Google spokeswoman Julie McAlister told the Daily Caller News Foundation. The company’s goal is focusing on the kind of products that serve customers and support businesses, she added. Google’s search feature can potentially skew a major national election toward one candidate over another, according to Robert Epstein, a research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology. Research he published in 2017 suggests Google’s bias affected the vote in the 2016 election.…

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Seven Steps Next Director Can Take to Make the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Less Awful

Kathy Kraninger

by Norbert Michel   The Trump administration has nominated Kathy Kraninger to be the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Roll Call reports that her confirmation hearing was “as politically contentious as it’s gotten in the last year and a half” on the otherwise “senatorial Senate Banking Committee.” Ignore the political drama. The real story is the fact that the Bureau has been making some very positive changes under acting director Mick Mulvaney, a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus. To be clear, the Bureau should not exist. It was created based on the false premise that there was insufficient consumer protection law prior to the 2008 crisis, and that evil lenders preying on unsuspecting borrowers caused the mortgage meltdown. Mortgages are not, despite Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s claims, anything like faulty toasters, and more than 20 federal consumer financial protection statutes existed prior to 2008. Furthermore, the crisis itself was caused by too much government, not too little. Congress should never have created a new federal agency, much less one with the bizarre (possibly unconstitutional) structure that it gave the CFPB. At best, Congress should have consolidated authority for the 20-plus federal consumer financial protection statutes that existed prior to 2008 at the Federal…

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