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Today: Visa and Mastercard agreed to pay $167.5 million to settle antitrust claims over ATM surcharge restrictions, TransUnion will pay $8.31 million for selling inaccurate bankruptcy-marked credit reports, and the Ninth Circuit rejected an expansive DMCA copyright claim that would have made embedding links legally risky. The House passed the GUARD Act to fund local law enforcement scam investigations using blockchain tracing tools, while the Meta settlement with 52 states mandates age-gating and content restrictions that will curtail youth organizing on Instagram and Facebook.
Visa and Mastercard ATM Antitrust Settlement
Visa and Mastercard agreed to pay $167.5 million to resolve claims that they violated antitrust laws by prohibiting independent ATM operators from charging different surcharges based on card brand. Class members who operated non-bank ATMs may be eligible for cash payments from the settlement fund.
TransUnion Inaccurate Credit Report Settlement
TransUnion agreed to pay $8.31 million to settle claims that it sold consumer reports containing inaccurate bankruptcy remarks. The settlement resolves allegations that TransUnion failed to properly update or remove outdated bankruptcy information from credit files, violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Class members who received consumer reports with incorrect bankruptcy notations may receive cash payments.
Coast Guard and FBI Board Oil Tanker After Cyberattack
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed it boarded the tanker VL Prosperity in the Gulf of Mexico on August 21 after the vessel's network was compromised by foreign cyber actors. A specialized team including Coast Guard Cyber Protection Team members and FBI Cyber Action Team operators conducted a comprehensive cybersecurity boarding and investigation. Iranian media reported the attackers allegedly increased engine speed and disabled fuel and oil tank controls during a 30-hour communications blackout. The incident followed a separate cyberattack on North Carolina Ports one day earlier that forced manual operations.
Sixth Circuit Clippinger Decision Blocks State Farm Class Certification
The Southern District of Ohio denied class certification in Nichols v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 2026 WL 2581605 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 1, 2026), applying the Sixth Circuit's en banc decision in Clippinger v. State Farm Auto. Ins. Co., 173 F.4th 817 (6th Cir. 2026). The plaintiff challenged State Farm's method for calculating actual cash value payments for totaled vehicles, alleging the insurer included improper "negotiation adjustments." The court found that determining whether State Farm paid the actual cash value for each vehicle required individualized, plaintiff-by-plaintiff proof, making class treatment inappropriate under Rule 23(b)(3). The decision reinforces that breach-of-contract claims requiring individualized assessments of damages cannot proceed on a classwide basis in the Sixth Circuit.
First Amendment Protects Criticism of ICE Director
Judge Rudolph Contreras granted a preliminary injunction in Streever v. DHS, barring the Department of Homeland Security from relying on a warning notice threatening prosecution for protected speech criticizing ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons. Streever sent an email comparing Lyons to a Nazi official and predicting he would become "a sad, despised man." DHS dispatched agents to Streever's home and hotel, delivering a warning notice threatening prosecution if he did not "discontinue" his criticism. The court found the email did not constitute a "true threat" and that criticizing public officials is protected by the First Amendment. The decision prohibits DHS from relying on the warning notice, issuing similar threats, or making good on the threats.
General Motors Sierra and Silverado Transmission Defect Lawsuit
A new class action lawsuit alleges General Motors sold thousands of Sierra and Silverado pickup trucks equipped with a defective eight-speed transmission and concealed the problem from consumers for years. The complaint claims GM knew about transmission failures causing harsh shifting, hesitation, and premature wear but failed to disclose the defect at the time of sale.
Wage Lawsuits Against UPS, O'Reilly Auto, United Airlines, Dunkin' Donuts
A new wave of wage lawsuits filed within six weeks accuses O'Reilly Auto, UPS, United Airlines, and Dunkin' Donuts of shortchanging workers on pay they were owed. The complaints allege violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage-and-hour laws.
House Passes GUARD Act for Local Law Enforcement Scam Investigations
The House of Representatives passed the Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception Act (GUARD), which allows local law enforcement to use existing federal grant money to investigate financial fraud cases, including pig butchering scams. The bipartisan bill permits agencies to hire analysts and experts, purchase blockchain intelligence tools to trace stolen cryptocurrency, and designate points of contact for financial institutions to share information with law enforcement. Funding would be drawn from five existing Department of Justice grant programs. A companion bill in the Senate was added to the legislative calendar in February. The House also passed legislation eliminating the "scam tax" requiring Americans to pay taxes on funds stolen from them, applying retroactively for victims scammed between 2021 and 2025.
AI Safety Legislation Delayed Until 2027
House Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) indicated the FRONTIER Act, a comprehensive bipartisan AI safety bill co-sponsored by Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Lori Trahan (D-MA), will not receive a committee vote in 2026. Guthrie stated the legislation is "really complicated" and he would not want to rush it through a lame duck session. The FRONTIER Act has support from OpenAI, Anthropic, and policy groups. White House AI adviser David Sacks suggested an alternative framework where AI companies test the safety of each other's models before public release instead of relying on government regulation.
Chrysler Recalls 328,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Vehicles
Chrysler is recalling more than 328,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles due to a defect that may cause rear coil springs to detach while driving, posing a crash risk. Vehicle owners should monitor NHTSA recall notices for repair instructions.
Meta Settlement Mandates Age-Gating and Content Restrictions
Meta settled with 52 states and territories regarding Instagram and Facebook use by young people, agreeing to embed age-gating practices into every product and impose restrictions on accounts of users under 18, including a two-hour daily time limit, blocks between midnight and 6am, and content restrictions. The settlement will pressure non-Meta platforms like TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar measures. EFF warned the requirements will curtail youth organizing and activism by limiting access to real-time information, blocking content labeled as "age-inappropriate," and preventing rapid response organizing. Meta's content policies already hide LGBTQ+ hashtags like #lesbian, #bisexual, #gay, #trans, and #queer for users with sensitive content filters enabled, which will become default for young users. The settlement also raises surveillance concerns by requiring extensive identity verification data that could be demanded by law enforcement via warrant.
EFF Reports Police Using Nonsensical ALPR Search Reasons
EFF released a report showing police officers across the country are routinely logging nonsensical reasons for automated license plate reader (ALPR) searches, including "LOL," "LMAO," and "Sexy." The findings demonstrate lack of accountability in mass surveillance systems like Flock cameras, which track vehicle movements without warrant requirements.
Three Ukrainians Charged for Roblox Account Theft
Ukrainian prosecutors charged three individuals with stealing access to more than 610,000 Roblox accounts and selling them to buyers in Russia. The group allegedly distributed information-stealing malware disguised as gaming software to harvest session tokens (cookies), then used automated software to assess which accounts contained valuable virtual currency or rare items. The most valuable accounts were sold individually while less lucrative ones were bundled. Prosecutors estimate the operation could have generated $480,000, with nearly $54,000 traced to cryptocurrency proceeds converted to Ukrainian currency. The suspects face charges including theft, money laundering, unauthorized interference with computer systems, and illegal sale of restricted information, carrying a maximum 12-year sentence.
Supreme Court Blocks Trump Mail-In Ballot Rule
The Supreme Court blocked a controversial U.S. Postal Service rule on mail-in ballots from being used in the upcoming midterm elections. President Trump criticized the decision on Truth Social, calling it "a big loss for Republicans" and stating it "makes cheating by the Radical Left 'Dumocrats,' on Mail-In Ballots, a much easier thing to do." Trump also criticized his three Supreme Court appointees (Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett) for apparently joining with the three liberal justices and Chief Justice Roberts in the decision. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated the administration will continue election integrity work despite the setback but will follow the court's orders.
Trump Administration Seeks SAVE Database Access for Voter Roll Verification
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow the Department of Homeland Security to use the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to identify noncitizens on state voter rolls. Groups challenging the plan filed a response on Tuesday opposing the administration's request.
John Eastman Petitions Supreme Court to Undo Disbarment
Conservative attorney John Eastman filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to reinstate his California law license after he was disbarred earlier this year over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Eastman argues his legal advocacy was protected by the First Amendment and that he was disciplined in a "politicized" bar proceeding. He notes other attorneys who participated in legal proceedings challenging the 2020 election were not disciplined. It is rare for the Supreme Court to weigh in on attorney disciplinary cases, which are normally decided by state supreme courts.