United States: Dodd-Frank, Consumer Protection Act

Affordability remains front and center at the FTC. This month, the agency turned its attention to healthcare and gas costs. It also issued detailed guidance on price transparency for auto dealers that marketers in any industry might want to heed: the advertised price “must be the actual price that any consumer can walk in and pay,” with only government fees excluded. The FTC continues to consider how to combat scams and is seeking public comment on whether online platforms should help stop scammers who use those platforms to impersonate third parties by, for example, requiring the removal of confirmed impersonation scam ads.

A major decision issued on 14 July 2026 by the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit marks a potential shift in the legal landscape governing text message marketing under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the TCPA). In Steidinger v. Blackstone Med. Servs., No. 25-2398, the Seventh Circuit held that Section 227(c)(5) of the TCPA does not permit plaintiffs to sue for the receipt of unwanted text messages, because text messages are not “telephone calls” within the meaning of that provision. For businesses operating in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin—the three states within the Seventh Circuit—this decision has immediate and significant implications.

California's June 2026 primary election reshaped the state's political landscape through Proposition 50's redistricting effects, creating new Democratic pickup opportunities in previously Republican-held congressional districts while setting up competitive races for governor, insurance commissioner, and key legislative seats.