Cause of Action’s Dan Epstein talks with Peter Schiff about the IRS targeting scandal.
06/19/2014
Computerworld: Congressman calls for halt to FTC breach probe amid claims of ‘corporate blackmail’
Read the full story: Computerworld
Government watchdog Cause of Action, (CoA) which has taken up LabMD’s defense, welcomed the House Oversight Committee investigation demand for an investigation into its relationship with Tiversa.
“The House Oversight Committee’s investigation should send a message to federal agencies, the President and the courts that the arbitrary abuse of administrative power will not go unchecked,” Cause of Action’s executive director Dan Epstein said. “This is why it has investigated and litigated for LabMD to stop the FTC from arbitrarily expanding and abusing its power by victimizing an entrepreneur who did nothing wrong.”
The CoA contends that there is no evidence that the FTC has taken steps to independently authenticate Tiversa’s claims.
06/3/2014
National Law Journal: FTC Data Security Trial on Hold Pending Investigation
Read the full story: National Law Journal
The FTC’s smoking gun: a file with information about 9,300 consumers, including names, birth dates, social security numbers and medical tests results for conditions such as cancer. According to the FTC complaint, a LabMD employee installed a peer-to-peer file sharing application on her work computer and inadvertently shared the file.
The file was found by Tiversa—but LabMD lawyers say just how that happened is unclear. Tiversa “has patented technology which allows it to search peer-to-peer networks in an unprecedented breadth and volume,” William Sherman II, a partner at Dinsmore & Shohl retained by non-profit watchdog Cause of Action to represent LabMD, said during opening statements on May 20.
Sherman said LabMD employees couldn’t find the file on the peer-to-peer network even when searching using its precise name. “The evidence will show that the only entity able to find this file has patented technology,” Sherman said.
06/3/2014
Atlanta Business Chronicle: Congressional probe delaying LabMD’s lawsuit
Read the full story: Atlanta Business Chronicle
A lawsuit filed by an Atlanta-based medical testing lab against the Federal Trade Commission has been put on hold following word that a congressional committee is investigating a company involved in the case.
Michael Daugherty, LabMD’s CEO, welcomed news that Congress is looking into the FTC’s involvement with Tiversa.
“The benefit of the doubt the federal government enjoys needs to be scrutinized when to comes to the behavior of the FTC,” Daugherty said Tuesday during a conference call with reporters.
Reed Rubenstein, senior vice president of litigation for Cause of Action, the government accountability group representing LabMD, said the court case has been postponed until June 12.
05/29/2014
Bloomberg BNA: Groups Push Obama Executive Order To Halt IRS Proposed Section 501(c)(4) Rules
An excerpt from a May 2, 2014 Bloomberg BNA story:
Cause of Action, a conservative government accountability group, is asking the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to force the Internal Revenue Service to declare that its proposed rule on limiting the political activities of Section 501(c)(4) organizations is “a significant regulatory action” under an executive order signed by President Barack Obama.
Executive Order 13563, signed by Obama in January 2011, says that in deciding whether and how to regulate, federal agencies should assess all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives–including the alternative of not regulating. The order affirms and builds on Executive Order 12866 signed by former President Bill Clinton in 1993 .
Cause of Action said the Office of Management and Budget is attempting to “game the system” by saying the executive orders don’t apply to the 501(c)(4) rules.
05/27/2014
Atlanta Journal Constitution: Medical lab battles feds over privacy
Read the full story: Atlanta Journal Constitution
Daugherty said he has spent more than a half-million dollars on the case so far. He’s had help from Cause of Action, a nonprofit group that said it got involved to help a small business with limited resources fight back against unfair regulation.
“I don’t think Congress intended for the FTC to regulate HIPAA,” said Daniel Epstein, the group’s executive director. “If it wanted to, they could authorize a law to do so.”