News release: “As explained in the amicus brief, the proposed settlement raises concerns in three areas in which the FTC has significant expertise: FDCPA and debt collection, privacy and data collection, and class action fairness. First, the FTC is the chief federal enforcer of the FDCPA and has conducted comprehensive assessments of debt collection activities, including its 2009 report, Collecting Consumer Debts: The Challenges of Change and its 2010 report, Repairing a Broken System: Protecting Consumers in Debt Collection Litigation and Arbitration. Second, the FTC safeguards consumers’ privacy and the security of their personal information under Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Finally, in connection with its Class Action Fairness Project, the FTC has studied how best to protect consumer interests and promote fairness in the class action context and has filed amicus briefs commenting on potentially unfair class settlements.”