California: New IoT security regulations–State steps in while US is “largely absent”
November 15, 2018, Linux.com
It falls upon lawmakers to create laws that protect consumers. While the US government is largely absent in this area of consumer protection, the state of California has recently stepped in and started regulating the Internet of Things, or “IoT” devices sold in the state — and the effects will soon be felt worldwide. California’s new SB 327 law, which will take effect in January 2020, requires all “connected devices” to have a “reasonable security feature.” The good news is that the term “connected devices” is broadly defined to include just about everything connected to the Internet. The not-so-good news is that “reasonable security” remains defined such that companies trying to avoid compliance can argue that the law is unenforceable.
Officials warn of increase in fake products ahead of holidays
November 23, 2018, Bluffton Today
As the holiday season arrives, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is warning shoppers about the rise of counterfeit goods. CBP’s goal is to protect consumers by seizing counterfeit or otherwise unsafe items from cargo ships and other shipping hubs. The agency works with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Homeland Security Investigations teams to seize items that violate import requirements, safety standards and intellectual property rights. Commonly counterfeited goods include apparel, handbags jewelry, electronics and toys. In fiscal year 2017, the number of intellectual property rights seizures across the nation increased 8 percent to more than 34,500. If these goods would have been sold at face value, the estimated net value would’ve reached $1.2 billion.
N.C. environmental chief: Chemical maker must change its ways
November 25, 2018, The Associated Press
The largest penalty a polluter has paid North Carolina should change the way one of the country’s biggest chemical companies makes compounds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said appear dangerous even in small amounts, the state’s top environmental official said Friday. A deal recently announced requires The Chemours Co. to pay the state a $12 million penalty, add $1 million for investigative costs, sharply reduce air emissions of the nonstick compound known as GenX, and spend millions to provide permanent replacement drinking water supplies to neighbors with contaminated water wells.
Lime scooter manufacturer says it’s not to blame for recall
November 16, 2018, NBC Washington
Scooter and bike startup Lime has issued its second recall in less than a month, the company confirmed to Business Insider on Monday, after reports that some of its models from Chinese manufacturer Okai were breaking in half “when subjected to repeated abuse.” The company reports it is working cooperatively with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the relevant agencies internationally to get to the bottom of this,” Lime said in a statement. But Okai is preparing to fight back and challenge Lime’s claims.
Toy slime makes consumer advocate’s annual Trouble in Toyland survey
November 20, 2018, Chicago Tribune
Play slime that contains potentially unsafe chemicals, toys with small pieces that can pose choking hazards and electronics that may invade a child’s privacy top the list of products to be wary of this holiday shopping season, according to a consumer advocacy organization. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, in its 33rd annual survey on toy safety, said products are safer than ever before, but key issues remain. Among them: High levels of chemicals. The advocate group found high concentrations of boron in certain “slime” toy products sold online and in stores.
CPSC Data reports more than a 107,000 toy-related facial/head injuries to kids last year
November 19, 2018, Health News Digest
But before purchasing any gifts for children, Prevent Blindness, the nations’ oldest non-profit eye health organization, recommends buyers make safety the priority. Last year, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a report stating that there were an estimated 240,000 toy-related injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments. An estimated 80,100 of those injuries were to children younger than age 5. And, 45 percent (or 107,400) of the total injuries were to the head and face area, the area of the body with the most injuries. To help shoppers select appropriate gifts this holiday season, Prevent Blindness has declared December as Safe Toys and Gifts Awareness month and offers tips including:
Boy, 6, hospitalized for two weeks with perforated intestines after accidentally swallowing 14 magnets when he tried to hide his brother’s toy by putting it in his mouth
November 15, 2018, dailymail.co.uk
Mikah Arvidson had been excited all month to go trick-or-treating dressed up as Master Chief from his favorite video game Halo. But, on Halloween night, the six-year-old was complaining that he wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to go anymore. His parents, Blake and Aubrey, assumed their youngest son had caught a 24-hour stomach bug but, after three days of constant vomiting and Mikah complaining of abdominal pain, they rushed him to the emergency room. Doctors discovered 14 tiny magnets were inside his small intestines had perforated the lining and were leaking bile into his stomach.
2018 Holiday consumer protection guide identifies some of the latest recalled products
November 24, 2018, Space Coastal Daily
With the holiday shopping season underway, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has released the 2018 Holiday Consumer Protection Guide to assist shoppers. The guide provides information about online identity theft, charity scams, item recalls and more available here. “My Holiday Consumer Protection Guide is full of great advice for making secure purchases online and tips on avoiding identity theft and charity scams,” said Attorney General Bondi.
Federal government not regulating popular youth-sized ATVs
November 12, 2018, CBC
The federal government has not evaluated the safety of youth-sized all-terrain vehicles, machines that children as young as six years old can legally operate in some provinces. The vehicles, which have smaller engines and are often programmed to go more slowly, are marketed by the ATV industry as being safer for children than adult-sized machines. But no government body is regulating or testing youth-sized ATVs to ensure they are actually safe for children to use. In the United States, the Consumer Product Safety Commission treats youth-sized ATVs the same as adult models, subjecting them to the same regulation.
Scientists slam controversial new documentary that claims ban on Roundup and GM foods could CURE allergies, asthma and autism
November 14, 4018, dailymail.co.uk
Kathleen DiChiara was left devastated after her son, Stephen, with diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. After months of therapy did not help improve his condition, the mother-of-three, from Rhode Island, decided to try an all-organic diet free of GMOs and Roundup. Suddenly, she said, his social communication challenges and repetitive behaviors were gone. That is the story at the heart of the controversial new documentary Secret Ingredients, released on Wednesday, which presents different accounts of people claiming several health issues they had were gone after a transition to a similar diet. But top scientists in the fields of agriculture and pesticides have hit back, saying this is false, unsubstantiated propaganda.
