The Trump administration is trying to oust the CPSC's three commissioners

By Truman Lewis of ConsumerAffairs

• Sen. Amy Klobuchar leads 25 members of Congress in filing an amicus brief to safeguard the CPSCs independence.

• The move follows the Trump administrations attempt to oust three sitting commissioners.

• Consumer advocates warn political interference could cost lives and compromise product safety.

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and 25 other members of Congress have filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, urging the court to preserve the independence and effectiveness of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) after the Trump administration sought to remove three sitting commissioners earlier this year.

At issue are the attempted dismissals of Commissioners Alexander Hoehn-Saric, Richard Trumka, and Mary T. Boyle, which critics say violated the law and threatened the nonpartisan mission of the CPSC.

The National Consumers League applauds Senator Klobuchar and her fellow amici for defending the spirit and letter of the law, decades of Supreme Court precedent, and the CPSCs ability to carry out its lifesaving mission, said Daniel Greene, Senior Director of Consumer Protection & Product Safety at the group.

The National Consumers League, Consumer Federation of America, and other consumer advocates also submitted a separate amicus brief, stressing that the agencys independence allows it to rely on scientific expertise rather than politics in protecting consumers from dangerous products.

The CPSCs independence ensures that the agency is mission-driven, guided by experts and science, and insulated from changing political tides, the groups wrote. Silencing the voices of subject-matter experts with whom you politically disagree does not improve government efficiency. It just leads to more unnecessary deaths and more unnecessary injuries.

The filing builds on previous advocacy efforts. In July, the National Consumers League organized a letter signed by more than 100 stakeholders urging the administration to stop its efforts to remove the three Democratic commissioners.

The FTC and Utah accused Pornhub of claiming to prohibit child sexual abuse material but failing to do so

By Truman Lewis of ConsumerAffairs

• The FTC and Utah accuse Pornhubs operators of profiting from child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and nonconsensual material (NCM) despite claiming to prohibit it.

• As part of a settlement, Pornhub parent Aylo must pay $5 million to Utah and implement strict safeguards to block harmful content.

• The order requires Aylo to verify performers ages, remove unverified content, and adopt stronger privacy protections.

The Federal Trade Commission and the state of Utah announced sweeping enforcement action Wednesday against the operators of Pornhub and other pornography-streaming sites, accusing them of deceiving users while profiting from the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and nonconsensual material (NCM).

As part of a proposed settlement, Pornhub parent company Ayloformerly known as MindGeekwill be required to implement a comprehensive program to prevent the publication of such material across its more than 100 pornographic websites, which include Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube. The Montreal-based operator must also pay a $5 million penalty to Utah, part of a $15 million judgment suspended after partial payment.

Pornhubs operators turned a blind eye to the proliferation of videos depicting the sexual abuse of children on its sites so it could profit off this exploitation, said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection.

FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, speaking alongside Utah officials in Salt Lake City, said the company inflicted grave harm on children and nonconsenting adults by promoting and distributing truly horrific material online. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox praised the action as an important step in protecting people from some of the most harmful and exploitative material online.

Allegations of systemic failures

According to the FTC and Utahs complaint, Aylo misled consumers by claiming it had a zero tolerance policy for CSAM while in practice failing to:

• Review flagged videos promptly;

• Ban uploaders who shared illegal material;

• Prevent reuploads of previously identified CSAM;

• Verify the ages and consent of individuals in posted videos.

Investigators found that Aylo even promoted channels and playlists explicitly referencing underage and nonconsensual themes. The company allegedly only began limited audits in 2020 after pressure from credit card processors and damaging media reports.

The complaint also accuses Aylo of deceiving performers by failing to safeguard sensitive personal dataincluding Social Security numbers and IDscollected through its model program. The FTC said Aylo falsely claimed such data would remain secure, yet stored it without encryption or basic protections.

Required reforms

Under the proposed order, Aylo must:

• Establish a robust program to block CSAM and NCM;

• Verify that all performers are adults and gave consent;

• Remove all unverified legacy content;

• Post a notice of the FTC and Utah allegations on its websites;

• Implement a comprehensive privacy and security program.

The measures, regulators said, are intended both to hold Aylo accountable and to prevent future exploitation of children and nonconsenting adults.

Experts reveal how certain fats not weight may fan the flames of severe, treatment-resistant asthma

• Not just weight: Even kids who arent obese can develop a severe, non-allergic form of asthma due to consumption of specific dietary fats.

• Stearic vs. oleic: Saturated stearic acid ramps up lung inflammation, while monounsaturated oleic acid seems to calm it.

• New ways forward: Blocking key inflammatory pathways or tweaking diet could open fresh treatment paths.

Asthma comes in many shapes, and one of the most frustrating for families is neutrophilic asthma a stubborn, non-allergic type that often lands kids in the hospital.

Until recently, obesity was blamed for many cases. However, researchers at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) noticed something odd: even lean kids were facing the same difficult-to-treat symptoms.

Their work on a recent study found that consumption of certain dietary fats could lead to these severe cases of asthma.

Prior to this study, many suspected that childhood obesity was causing this form of asthma. However, we were observing neutrophilic asthma in children who werent obese, which is why we suspected there might be another mechanism, senior study author David A. Hill, M.D., Ph.D., said in a news release.

What we found in both preclinical work and studies in children was that diets containing certain saturated long chain fatty acids can cause neutrophilic asthma independent from obesity.

The study

To get to the bottom of this, the researchers turned to both lab models and real-world samples.

They studied mice fed a high-fat diet and looked specifically at the lungs macrophages immune cells that help manage inflammation. They compared two kinds of fats: saturated stearic acid (common in animal fats and processed food) and monounsaturated oleic acid.

They examined how those fats affected lung inflammation and whether stopping certain inflammatory signals could interrupt the chain reaction.

The findings

The researchers found that the mice fed stearic acid-packed diets showed more lung inflammation even though they didnt become obese. That pointed directly to the fat itself, not weight gain.

On the other hand, oleic acid seemed to have the opposite effect, calming inflammatory activity.

They also tested what happens if they block two key players in inflammation IL-1 (a signaling protein) and IRE1 (a stress-response molecule).

The result? Inflammation eased up substantially.

And when samples from children with asthma were analyzed, researchers found similar macrophage behaviors strengthening the real-world relevance of their lab findings.

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in children, and different treatments may be needed depending on the subtype of asthma, study co-author Lisa R. Young, M.D., said in the news release.

While there are many risk factors and triggers that are associated with asthma, this study provides evidence about how specific dietary components are linked to a particularly difficult-to-treat form of asthma. These findings are encouraging because they provide new treatment strategies and suggest that targeted dietary modifications may help prevent this asthma type.

Disney unlawfully collected kids data on YouTube for targeted ads, FTC charges

• FTC says Disney unlawfully collected kids data on YouTube for targeted ads

• Complaint alleges Disney failed to mark some videos as Made for Kids, allowing tracking

• Proposed settlement requires COPPA compliance and a video-review program

The Walt Disney Co. will pay $10 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that it unlawfully collected personal data from children to enable targeted advertising on YouTube.

In a complaint filed by the Justice Department, the FTC said Disney didnt properly label some of its YouTube uploads as Made for Kids, a designation that disables data collection and targeted ads. The mislabeling, regulators said, allowed tracking of viewers under 13 and exposed children to features not appropriate for kid-directed content.

Disney earns a share of ad revenue from commercials served with its YouTube videos and also from ads it sells directly, according to the FTC.

'Made for Kids' label

Under the proposed settlement, Disney must follow the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) and roll out a program to review whether videos should be designated Made for Kids, unless YouTube implements its own age-assurance technologies.

Our order penalizes Disneys abuse of parents trust, and, through a mandated video-review program, makes room for the future of protecting kids onlineage assurance technology, FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said.

A Disney spokesperson said the company is committed to supporting the well-being and safety of kids and families, adding that Disney has a long tradition of embracing the highest standards of compliance with childrens privacy laws and will continue investing in tools to remain a leader in the space.

Googles YouTube requires publishers to mark content as made for children; doing so limits data collection and certain features to comply with COPPA. The FTCs order follows years of heightened scrutiny of how platforms and content owners treat childrens data online.

What you need to know

• High-profile company involved: Disney will pay $10 million and face new compliance requirements.

• Why it matters: The FTC says some Disney videos on YouTube werent labeled Made for Kids, enabling data collection and targeted ads for children under 13.

• What changes: Disney must follow COPPA and implement a video-review program to ensure proper kid-content labeling, unless YouTube adds age-assurance tech.