Eight state attorneys general (AGs) filed separate but coordinated lawsuits against OpenAI on October 14, alleging that the company misled consumers about ChatGPT’s safety and failed to adequately protect children and other users from harmful interactions.
On October 8, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that his office may begin enforcing the commonwealth’s new electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) directory starting October 19. Pursuant to Pennsylvania’s Act 57 (72 P.S. § 206-1), importers, wholesalers, and retailers may face civil penalties for selling electronic cigarettes not listed in the state’s ENDS directory, and unlisted products may be seized, forfeited, and destroyed.
On October 2, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission, and the attorneys general of Utah and Nevada, sued online contact lens retailer Lens.com, alleging that the company advertised contact lenses at prices significantly lower than what consumers ultimately paid after mandatory “Taxes & fees” charges were added during checkout. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, reflects recurring themes in consumer protection enforcement, including price transparency, online sales practices, automatic renewal programs, and coordinated federal-state enforcement.
Health care market pressures and the evolving role of state enforcement were the focus of a recent National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Eastern Region meeting. Tracy Wertz, chief deputy attorney general (AG) of the Antitrust Section in the Pennsylvania AG’s Office, moderated the discussion with Leslie V. Gordon, director at the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Together, they addressed hospital closures, physician consolidation, rural health funding, and health care fraud, with particular attention to how state attorneys general can monitor transactions and respond to changing market conditions.
In this special crossover episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast and Regulatory Oversight, Chris Willis, Stefanie Jackman, and Mike Yaghi discuss California Governor Gavin Newsom’s appointment of former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra to lead the state’s newly created Business and Consumer Services Agency (BCSA).
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced a settlement on September 28, 2026, with Mavis Tire Supply to resolve allegations that the company engaged in deceptive sales and repair practices. Under the settlement, filed in the form of an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC), Mavis agrees to pay $215,000 — $190,000 for consumer restitution and $25,000 for investigative costs. The agreement also provides for a suspended $100,000 civil penalty that could become due if Mavis is found to have violated the agreement. Mavis agreed to the settlement without admitting liability or any wrongdoing.
In this special crossover episode of Regulatory Oversight and The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis, Stefanie Jackman, and Mike Yaghi discuss California Governor Gavin Newsom’s appointment of former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra to lead the state’s newly created Business and Consumer Services Agency (BCSA).
On September 23, 2026, a bipartisan coalition of 26 attorneys general (AGs) led by New York AG Letitia James wrote to congressional leadership urging Congress to establish comprehensive federal regulation and safety protocols for frontier artificial intelligence (AI). The letter identifies six elements the signatories say belong in any federal regulatory scheme, including an explicit prohibition on preemption of state AI laws.
On September 8, 2026, a bipartisan coalition of 49 state and territorial attorneys general filed reply comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), urging the agency to make its “Know Your Upstream Provider” (KYUP) requirements mandatory for voice service providers. The coalition is led by North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, who also chairs the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force. The filing follows the coalition’s July 27 letter to the FCC seeking stronger vetting obligations for originating voice service providers and extends that position to providers that accept and route traffic further down the call path.
On September 14, 2026, Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Andrea Campbell announced a settlement with several debt buying and debt collection companies and their owner, resolving a lawsuit that accused them of seizing consumers’ cars to coerce payments on unrelated debts. The defendants are now permanently barred from buying or collecting on debts in the state, leaving them unable to recover approximately $52 million in alleged loans to more than 6,000 Massachusetts consumers.