uNorth Pole Rejects Proposed Ban On Marijuana Salesr

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  This guy hangs out in North Pole, AK (jjandames)

  Santa Claus already has a jolly reputation and soon more of the North Pole’s citizens may earn a jolly reputation of their own, after the city voted to reject a measure that would’ve put the kibosh on medical marijuana dispensaries.

  While it’s not exactly “the” North Pole, the Christmas-themed community of North Pole does exist in Alaska, and as such, it has a city council that votes on things like allowing a pot store to open in the Christmas-themed community.

  The ban on a dispensary failed to pass by a 2-5 vote, reportsNewsminer.com, with the mayor saying that if residents don’t want a pot shop, they won’t go there. It’d be at least 2016 before a cannabis store could open as Alaska is still hammering out regulations for the new industry.

  One resident who happens to share a name with one of Christmas’ most recognizable faces himself spoke in favor of a store coming to North Pole, saying the guy with the belly like a bowl full of jelly is known for joviality so why not?

  “As far as the image goes here at North Pole, how do most people perceive Santa Claus?” the man told Newsminer.com “I would say Santa Claus is a pretty jolly fellow.”

  He adds that as a medical marijuana patient, he’d like to have access to medical marijuana in North Pole instead of having to go to Fairbanks for it.

  It’s currently legal for residents of the state to possess a plant for recreational use, and North Pole’s police chief says the number of arrests for pot possession is down since the law allowing it went into effect in February. Previously, the town had arrested people for possession instead of ticketing them.

  “We’re not seeing any significant issues with it at this point,” the police chief said.

  North Pole rejects ban on pot sales [Newsminer.com]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uPayPal’s New Terms Of Service Mean More Robocalls, Spam Texts For Usersr

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  (André-Pierre du Plessis)

  PayPal’s terms of service already include a clause giving the company permission to make prerecorded marketing robocalls to the number you provide them, and to send texts to that number if it’s for a mobile phone. But starting in July, PayPal is giving itself a lot more authority for bothering you — and not just on the phone number you have on record.

  Consumer journalist Bob Sullivan notes that the revised PayPal user agreement [PDF], which goes into effect on July 1, greatly expands upon its already intrusive requirement to let the company robocall you.

  The current agreement states that “By providing PayPal a telephone number (including a mobile telephone number), you agree to receive autodialed and prerecorded message calls at that number.” And the company has a very loose definition of the term “providing.”

  According to PayPal, you’re not only providing them your phone number when you register your account or add one to an existing account, but if you tell that number to an employee or even call the company from a phone number.

  But the new agreement goes even further, saying that PayPal can robocall and text you at “any telephone number that you have provided us or that we have otherwise obtained.”

  So even if you make every attempt to keep a phone number out of PayPal’s hands, they can still contact you with a robocall if they get that number through other means.

  This section of the user agreement is also extended to give the company more reasons for robocalling you. There’s the typical stuff like account troubleshooting and dispute resolution (though we’re unsure of how one resolves a dispute via a prerecorded message), but also debt collection, marketing, and everyone’s favorite: opinion polling.

  As in the current agreement, PayPal users are giving up their right to not be robocalled by debt collectors.

  What’s problematic about this is that it could run afoul of laws and regulations regarding prerecorded, autodialed calls.

  For example, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act prohibits non-emergency robocalls “without the prior express consent of the called party.”

  Sure, PayPal automatically opts you into robocalls through its user agreement, but it doesn’t give you any opportunity to opt out when you set up your account or afterward. Additionally, does the agreement with PayPal give it the right to pass on this robocall requirement to third parties with whom you’ve never done business?

  The National Consumer Law Center and others will be asking the FCC to rule on whether a consumer can be contractually forced into an autodial agreement that doesn’t provide an opt-out clause.

  On June 18, the FCC is set to vote on a proposal that would strengthen consumers’ ability to block unwanted robocalls, including giving them the ability to revoke previously granted authorizations for these calls.

  Another possible issue for PayPal’s far-reaching inclusion of any number “otherwise obtained,” is that the company could be providing debt collectors with inaccurate contact information based on phone numbers not provided directly from the customer.

  It’s highly possible that PayPal could mistakenly think that a work number, or a phone number for a family member or loved one is yours, and then pass that info on to its collections agents. But the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits debt collectors from contacting third parties without consent.

  We’ve asked PayPal for comment on this policy and will update if we hear anything back.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uIRS Officials, Congress Agree That Agency Needs Better Anti-Fraud Measuresr

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  (Adam Fagen)
  

  Congress was understandably alarmed at the news that cyberbaddies, believed to be criminals based in Russia, were able to gain access to previous years’ return data for 104,000 U.S. taxpayers. The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing today, where the Inspector General of the IRS explained that the agency simply isn’t keeping up with the criminals who want its data.

  Filing false tax returns is a potentially lucrative business, since each one requires a modest amount of personal information about the victim in return for a tax refund that can be worth thousands of dollars. While IRS systems flag millions of fraudulent returns every year, the number is increasing dramatically. This year’s data breach through the transcript system shows that aspiring identity thieves can change up their methods, and the agency needs to stay ahead of them. “This incident provides a stark reminder that even security controls that may have been adequate in the past can be overcome by hackers, who are anonymous, persistent, and have access to vast amounts of personal data and knowledge,” Treasury Inspector General for tax administration J. Russell George said during his testimony before Congress. This isn’t really news to the inspector general’s office, though. The IRS hasn’t yet implemented recommendations that George’s office made more than three years ago.

  This wasn’t a hack, exactly: the thieves used personal data that they already had for about 200,000 potential victims to gain access to even more information through the transcript system. Fake tax returns that resemble past years’ returns for the same person would be less likely to get flagged for fraud.

  IRS needs to do more to fight cyberattacks, watchdog says [Associated Press]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uFIFA President Sepp Blatter (Eventually) Quitting Amid Corruption Prober

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• Last Friday, Sepp Blatter was reelected as president of FIFA, the world’s most powerful soccer organization, only days after several high-ranking FIFA officials were arrested on charges of receiving illegal bribes and kickbacks. Today, after nearly two decades as head of the group behind the World Cup, Blatter announced he will be stepping down.

  “While I have a mandate from the membership of FIFA, I do not feel that I have a mandate from the entire world of football – the fans, the players, the clubs, the people who live, breathe and love football as much as we all do at FIFA,” explained Blatter. “Therefore, I have decided to lay down my mandate at an extraordinary elective Congress. I will continue to exercise my functions as FIFA President until that election.”

  Since the next scheduled FIFA Congress won’t take place until next May, the group’s Executive Committee will need to arrange a special meeting to elect the next president. For some reason, that can’t happen until at least December, reports Bloomberg.

  The Blatter resignation comes on the heels of a news report that FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke, the second-most powerful official in the organization, allegedly authorized a $10 million payment from FIFA to bank accounts overseen by Jack Warner, a former head of CONCACAF, FIFA’s governing body for North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Warner was among those arrested last week.

  FIFA claims that no one at the group’s top level, including Valcke, was involved in the “initiation, approval and implementation” of the 2008 payment to Warner.

  The news also comes only two days after John Oliver called on FIFA’s biggest sponsors to use their leverage to oust Blatter, by promising to use their products (and he pretends he likes them) if they helped.

  “I will even drink a Bud Light Lime,” he pleaded to Budweiser, “despite the fact that all the lime in the world can not disguise the fact that this tastes like a puddle beneath a Long John Silver’s dumpster… If you get rid of the Swiss demon that has ruined the sport I love, this will taste like f*cking champagne.”

  While he’s not yet drinking Bud Light Lime, he’s at least living up to the “champagne” part of the promise:

  Champagne…. http://pic.twitter.com/1S8shEcN6E

  — John Oliver (@iamjohnoliver) June 2, 2015

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uHealth Insurer Anthem Offering Employees Free Colleger

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  (Anthem)

  What do Fiat Chrysler, Starbucks and health insurer Anthem have in common? As of today, they each offer to foot the bill for their employees to attend college.

  Bloomberg reports that Indiana-based Anthem – which suffered a major data breach earlier this year – is the latest company to offer employees the opportunity to earn their associate’s or bachelor’s degree without incurring a massive amount of student loan debt.

  Under the new program, eligible full- and part-time Anthem employees can sign up for online classes in business and health care at the College for America at Southern New Hampshire University.

  While the new students must front the costs for the courses, Anthem will reimburse their expenses.

  Anthem’s 55,000 employees can take part in the new tuition program if they work 20 or more hours per week and have been employed by the company for at least six months.

  The national insurer actually began the program as a pilot in 2013. Since then nine employees have earned associate’s degrees, with many moving on to pursue a bachelor’s degree, a company spokesperson says.

  “This was a huge opportunity for us to provide professional development,” Jose Tomas, Anthem’s chief human resources officer, says of expanding the program. “We certainly will enjoy the benefits of providing this from a succession-planning standpoint.”

  According to Bloomberg, the College for America programs covered by Anthem cost about $2,500 a year. Unlike traditional higher education institutions, College for America students progress through their education by completing projects at their own pace.

  One employee who earned her associate’s degree under Anthem’s pilot program tells Bloomberg that she was able to complete the program in about eight months.

  “I earned a promotion because of that,” she said by phone. “It was a total shock, because it wasn’t anything that I expected. It was so exciting to know that I was going to get a degree, to have a diploma in my hand.”

  Anthem’s program announcement comes just a month after Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. division unveiled the Degrees@Work program – a partnership with Strayer University – aimed at educating employees and improving retention for the company’s dealerships.

  Starbucks got the employee-college program ball rolling back in 2014 when it announced it would finance workers’ dreams of attending college around the country by offering to pay their tuition at Arizona State University.

  Anthem Offers Free College as Newest Perk [Bloomberg]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uAdvertisers Can Now Add Action Buttons Like “Shop Now” To Instagram Adsr

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• The days of an ad-free Instagram are long gone, lost in the pre-Facebook ownership days, so it might be no surprise that the photo-and-video-sharing social media app will now feature ads that let viewers take action beyond liking or commenting on them.

  A year and a half after Instagram first introduced ads, the company says advertisers can now embed “action-oriented” buttons including “Shop Now”,”Sign Up” and “Install Now” below the photos in their ads.

  Once you’ve clicked on a button, you won’t be taken away from the app completely. A mini-browser opens within the app, allowing a user to return to Instagram after they’ve finished their transaction.

  This is part of Instagram’s overall effort to keep users in its app in a smooth, straightforward browsing experience an Instagram executive told TechCrunch.

  “Instagram is not an index or collection of the web where syndicated links matter, it’s about photos people take. You’re not retweeting, regramming, or passing a link on,” the company’s Global Head of Business and Brand Development James Quarles explained to TechCrunch. “In these cases where there are businesses… we think that it’s a very lightweight experience to go into an in-app browser… and then come back to the app. We’re staying true to the values of simplicity.”

  Although users will be able to buy things from companies, it won’t be processing e-commerce payments inside the app, Quarles says, at least not yet.

  “We’re watching the space closely. We want to help reduce the friction from the point of inspiration to transaction.”

  The new formats will be rolling out gradually, with tests starting later this week in Spain.

  You might be seeing more ads in general as well, as Instagram also notes in the post that it’s planning to open the Instagram feed to all advertisers — that means the local spots as well as national brands will be able to target ads to users by interest, age, gender and location as well as “because of the people, places and things they love.”

  “Working with Facebook, we will enable advertisers to reach people on Instagram based on demographics and interests, as well as information businesses have about their own customers,” Instagram’s blog post says. “We will also improve the feedback mechanisms within Instagram to give people greater control and improve the relevance of the ads they see.”

  Instagram Beefs Up Ads With App Install And Buy Buttons, Interest Targeting, API [TechCrunch]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uFord Adds 500,000 More Vehicles To Its Takata Airbag Recall Lineupr

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  (Amy G.)

  During the past week, automakers have scrambled to identify which of their models should be included in the recall of nearly 34 million vehicles equipped with Takata-produced airbags that can shoot pieces of shrapnel upon deployment. For Ford Motor Company the answer involves nearly 500,000 additional sports cars.

  MLive.com reports that the automaker plans to add approximately 500,000 Mustang and GT cars to its recall by expanding the model years covered, bringing its total number of vehicles in need of replacement airbags to 1,509,535.

  Ford’s Takata airbag-related recall now covers model years 2005 to 2014 Mustangs and model years 2005 to 2006 GTs, as well as certain Ranger pickup trucks from model years 2004 to 2006.

  The automaker previously reported that it was aware of one airbag deployment that might be related to the Takata defect. In that instance, a driver’s leg was injured by a metal fragment when the airbag deployed after a crash.

  The latest Takata-related recall expansion comes just days after BMW, Honda and Fiat Chrysler added vehicles to their roster of cars in need of replacement safety devices.

  The automakers’ expanded recalls come just a week after Takata declared that nearly 33.8 million vehicles sold in the United State should be recalled for the defect.

  While about 17 million of those vehicles had already been part of recalls by major automakers, millions of others had yet to be identified, leaving consumers wondering if they’re driving around with what some people have likened to an explosive device in their steering wheel.

  Consumers looking to see if their vehicles are part of the largest auto recall in history can check by entering their 17 digit VIN on the SaferCar.gov website, which produces a list of all recalls associated with a particular vehicle.

  Ford includes 1 million Mustangs and GTs in Takata airbag recall [MLive]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist