Sam Levine

After Notice and Choice: Reinvigorating “Unfairness” to Rein In Data Abuses

June 16, 2025

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has long served as America’s default privacy enforcer. Yet for much of its history, the agency relied on self-regulation through a “notice and choice” framework that left the public vulnerable in an era of rampant data collection and digital surveillance. Businesses overwhelmed users with dense privacy notices while amassing and exploiting vast troves of personal data. The agency’s historical approach, rooted in outdated assumptions about self-correcting markets and an ideologically cramped view of the FTC’s authorities and mandate, helped usher in a...

https://www.stanfordlawreview.org/print/article/after-notice-and-choice-reinvigo…

Sam Levine

Freedom to Earn, Freedom to Speak, and Freedom to Compete: Protecting MLM Workers in a Perilous Economy, by Samuel Levine

June 15, 2025

Like many Americans, I’m deeply alarmed by the escalating attacks on consumer protection in Washington – especially the efforts to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Weakening this vital agency will lead to more fraud, more predatory lending, and greater risk of another economic crisis.

I’m also deeply troubled by recent developments at the Federal Trade Commission, especially the unlawful removal of Commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya – two of the most dedicated public servants I’ve worked with. Their absence diminishes the agency, and they should be reinstated without...

https://www.yalejreg.com/nc/freedom-to-earn-freedom-to-speak-and-freedom-to-comp…

NY Must Step Up to Protect Consumers as Feds Step Back (Guest Opinion by Samuel Levine & Seth Frotman)

May 29, 2025

Sam Levine is former director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Seth Frotman is former general counsel and senior adviser to the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They are based in Washington, D.C.

It will come as no surprise to Syracuse that the global financial crisis did not begin with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, or with the meltdown in the stock market. It began house by house, mortgage by subprime mortgage, pushed by lenders who knew these loans would fail. And it began with the federal government turning a blind eye to...

https://www.syracuse.com/opinion/2025/05/ny-must-step-up-to-protect-consumers-as…

Trump Talks About Prices. Lina Khan is Lowering Them

May 13, 2025

Samuel Levine is a Senior Fellow at the UC Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice. He was the Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection under President Biden.

This week, something rare is happening in Washington: a federal rule is going into effect that should actually lower prices for American consumers. And here’s the irony: While Donald Trump has promised to lower prices, the most meaningful price-cutting policy to take effect during his watch is this one – a rule proposed, championed, and finalized by former Federal Trade...

https://economicpopulist.substack.com/p/trump-talks-about-prices-lina-khan?utm_s…

California Senate Passes Landmark Bill to Protect Car Buyers from Junk Fees and Bait-and-Switch Tactics

June 3, 2025

The California Senate today passed SB 766, the Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Act, marking a major victory for California consumers against junk fees and bait-and-switch tactics. Authored by Senator Ben Allen and backed by the Center and a broad coalition of consumer advocates, the legislation cracks down on deceptive practices in the sale of new and used vehicles – California’s number one source of consumer complaints.

“Buying a car shouldn’t feel like navigating a minefield,” said Ted Mermin, the Center’s Director. “This bill ensures car...

Testimony of Samuel Levine Before the Wyoming Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology

May 15, 2025

Testimony of Samuel Levine:

Good afternoon, Chairman Rothfuss, Chairman Singh, and members of the Committee.

My name is Sam Levine, and I serve as a Senior Fellow at Berkeley Law’s Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice. Until earlier this year, I directed the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, where I led the development of the federal Click-to-Cancel Rule.

John Breyault has already provided a strong overview of the Rule’s key requirements –...