Here’s something the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate won’t be able to use against John Thune: the Consumer Review Freedom Act. Senator Thune took up a really good idea, a prohibition against companies inserting clauses into their terms and conditions forbidding customers from saying anything bad about their product. Evidently certain sneaky companies have used such non-disparagement clauses to demand that customers remove negative online reviews and seek fines for violations. Yesterday the Senate rejected such violations of corporate power and the First Amendment by passing the CRFA by unanimous consent.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation says the Consumer Review Freedom Act shouldn’t be necessary. The courts have pretty consistently upheld consumer rights and thrown out such non-disparagement clauses as unconscionable. But companies keep trying to impose them on consumers:
So why do vendors keep using these agreements? Because they work, apparently. When presented with a legal-sounding threat from legitimate-seeming company, a lot of people give up. There are many stories that never make it to a courtroom or show up on the front page of Consumerist, stories of customers that hurried to pay that fine or delete that review. Because legal gray areas are fertile ground for legal bullying, the law should make it very clear that customers have every right to speak their mind, even if a company’s form contract says otherwise [Elliot Harmon and Kit Walsh, “Consumer Review Freedom Act Would Protect Customers’ Right to Post Reviews,” Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2015.11.03].
So good on Senator Thune for defending the rights of individuals against sneaky, litigious corporations. Now if only we’d heard that spirit from Senator Thune when it came to TransCanada trying to take individuals’ land rights for Keystone XL….
Now,w how about stopping the non-sense that you forfeit any rights to sue because you purchase a product-like cereal?
ahhh, just what else is up the sleeve of this professional politician now? That he would put his name on such a great liberal idea as this is somewhat surprising. I guess we can always have hope, eh?
The arbitration clause in many products give Americans and other consumers no protection whatsoever to sue for damages. The companies put the crap out and if you buy it and it is bad or harmful, tough luck.
Oh yes, once again the quantum nature of the South Dakota Republican party comes into play. You just never know when they will be for regulation or not. I guess in an election year, they don’t call it regulation, rather they call it being pro-consumer.
What did Truman once say?…. Something about a Senator spending the first four years as a leader, the fifth year as a demagogue, and the sixth year as a politician. We must be entering the sixth year or should I say the 12th year for John Randolph Thune.
Unfortunate for MetaBank that Thune’s penchant for fiscal protections overlooked the graft by Dan Nelson Automotive (Thune’s pal and campaign manager) while Thune served on the audit committee of MetaBank’s Board of Directors. Funny how that worked out.
A good bill but a Republican would only see the problem to solve after everyone else saw it. Unanimous votes are for obvious things, not changes that take great leadership.
Don’t you need a candidate first before you start talking about what he or she can use against Thune? I mean, lets be real here. The SDDP should have had someone 6 months ago to start raising money!
DR, Thune will be hard to beat with or without 6 more months and the necessary cash, but Thune as a Packers fan can truly understand just how it could be done more than most:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0vVqStvh_8
96Tears, Amen!!
Maybe we all are the candidate to run against Thune. We have the talking points that should smoke the fake out so that he would have to answer up on what it is that he has actually done in the senate besides being tall. This new deal he put out does not sound like him at all. I think some other senator wrote the bill and then put this doofus as the author. It has been done in the past. When you see Al Franken drinking Thune’s milkshake, you really get the idea that Thune is a made up character. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n2P0QsTe8c
Jerry,
That Youtube piece definitely needs to be some type of political infomercial in 2016. Perhaps it could start out with Thune speaking to give the voters the impression that it is his commercial. ;-)
I will believe that he is consumer oriented when he sponsors a bill to stop credit card issuers and other businesses from trying to force you into binding arbitration as a condition of having an account. The terms state that you must use an arbitrator (normally selected by the company), you cannot sue or be part of a class action suit, and give up your right of discovery. The arbitrator is not required to keep records or explain the reason for a decision but the decision is final.
I have a branded card from a big box electronics store that is managed by one of the mega credit card banks based in South Dakota. Their latest written notice of changes in terms included the arbitration clause as authorized by South Dakota law. I was going to close the account until I noticed that I could opt out (buried at the end of a paragraph in a multipage document) by sending a letter to a St Louis, MO PO Box. They supposedly will not close the account. I am now waiting to see if I get another change in terms raising my interest rate.
The Federal Consumer Protection Bureau is looking at establishing rules for or banning such terms.
Any bets on Thune, Rounds or Noem supporting such actions?
Boy, DR, you Republicans sure are eager to tell Democrats how to run their campaigns. Remember, John Thune didn’t launch his campaign against Daschle until January. Kristi Noem didn’t launch her campaign against Herseth Sandlin until February.
Just be careful what you wish for. You may not like the challenge you get.
Just remember that this guy votes which ever the republican wind blow,Dont forget to thank him for coming to basketball games , and taking a photo with you.As thats about all he gets done.
No doubt, Winston—that video should have been in high rotation in 2010 to support a challenger’s campaign. Woulda coulda shoulda—time for the 2016 candidate to bookmark that video… and start posting online reviews of Senator Thune’s performance.