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Recent Posts
- Drone Safety (video podcast)
- Combating Wildlife Trafficking Through Rewards
- Keeping the Lights On: Building Resilience in the U.S. Electricity Grid
- A Multi-Front Effort on Substance Abuse
- Hangars and Housing – Maintaining DOD’s Infrastructure
- Recognizing the Federal Workforce
- Arsenic in Rice
- Personal Information, Private Companies
- Saving Dollar Bills: Reducing Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication in Federal Programs
- What You Need to Know about Mortgages and Equity
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Category Archives: Business Regulation and Consumer Protection
Personal Information, Private Companies
The recent Congressional hearings on Facebook have highlighted the ways that companies collect and use personal information for marketing purposes. So, what rights do you have to your own information? Our 2013 report on information resellers remains relevant today. Information … Continue reading
What You Need to Know about Mortgages and Equity
Ah, springtime: when “for sale” signs start popping up with the daffodils and crocuses! Before you call your real estate agent, you might want to read up on some of the more technical aspects of homebuying—like exactly what homeownership can … Continue reading
Are Your Online Purchases Legit?
More counterfeit goods, drugs, and other illegal or prohibited items may be entering the United States as people increasingly buy things online. So, today’s WatchBlog explores how Customs and the Postal Service screen packages coming into the United States and … Continue reading
Collecting Revenue on U.S. E-Cigarette Imports
Over the last decade, the use of traditional cigarettes in the United States has declined, while the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has grown rapidly. We’ve previously reported that the federal government could not specifically track e-cigarette imports. However, U.S. … Continue reading
How Much Is That Doggie in the Cabin?
If you’re one of the millions flying this holiday season, you may be wondering whether you’ll have to pay fees for services that aren’t included in your ticket price. Want to bring Fido? There’s a fee for that. Want to … Continue reading
U.S. Postal Service’s Monopolies (video podcast)
No matter where you live in America, the U.S. Postal Service will deliver your first-class mail for the price of a stamp. To help ensure it can fulfill its mission of providing universal service, Congress granted USPS two monopolies that … Continue reading
Here Comes the Sun
Rooftop solar panels, smart thermostats, residential batteries, and other tech may help you manage your energy use, generate electricity, and lower your utility bills. For example, homeowners can use solar systems to generate clean electricity to power their home and … Continue reading
Podcast Roundup – Podcasts You May Have Missed
We’ve been busy podcasting! If you’re not subscribed on iTunes or our RSS feed, you may be missing out. Today’s WatchBlog catches you up on some of our recent podcasts.
May the Fourth Be Well Insured
You should have pretty good insurance before handing your car keys to Han Solo. While we don’t have insights into the Millennium Falcon’s insurance policy, the federal government has helped the commercial space launch industry since 1988 by sharing the … Continue reading
Small Businesses and Financial Technology
In today’s world, it’s not unusual for people to go online to conduct all kinds of business that used to be done face-to-face. It is not surprising then that new technologies are being used to provide financial services directly to … Continue reading
