Press Releases
12/28/2023
The Year in Review A Message from Attorney General Tong
Dear Friends,
It is hard to believe I am finishing my fifth year as your Attorney General. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve my home state that has given me and my family so much.
But as I write this, I know that Connecticut families are struggling to navigate a chaotic and uncertain world. Disruption is now the default. Wars and conflicts abroad generate suffering that impacts us greatly here at home. Though the economy is rebounding, Connecticut families continue to feel the squeeze of high prices and costs. And the dawn of artificial intelligence and the many harms to consumers and young people online presents dangers and risks that we have never seen before.
One thing that remains constant is the work of my office and state attorneys general-- a nimble and effective coalition against these powerful pressures that threaten us all. In Connecticut, the Office of the Attorney General—led by my incredible team of attorneys and staff—is confident, affirmative and stronger than ever in taking on these risks and dangers and protecting all the families of our great state.
In this last fiscal year alone, we secured $486.6 million in total recoveries, fines, penalties and damages for the state and consumers—revenue that is 14 times our operating cost and the largest source of state income outside of tax collections. That does not begin to quantify the work of our teams who this year successfully defended some of the most consequential public policies, laws and state actions around gun violence, public health, election integrity, child protection and more. I am honored every day to lead this office and this outstanding team of skilled and dedicated public servants.
Multistate Attorney General Leadership: A Bipartisan Front Protecting American Families
The Connecticut Office of the Attorney General has always been a national leader, whether it’s taking on the generic drug cartel over illegal price-fixing, the addiction industry for its role in the opioid and youth vaping epidemics, cracking down on robocall scams and harassment, or safeguarding consumer privacy. This year was no different.
Earlier this month, I was unanimously elected by my fellow attorneys general to serve as Vice President of the bipartisan National Association of Attorneys General. This role ensures that Connecticut will continue to lead the states in the most important multistate cases in our country today.
Holding Big Tech Accountable
At the beginning of the year, I said that the Office of the Attorney General would take the fight to the big technology companies to protect Connecticut families and children. And so we have. Technology has changed our lives and enabled us to do things never possible a generation ago, but as Big Tech grows in its influence and dominance, we cannot lose sight of the potential for harm and abuse.
After two years of extensive investigation, I joined with 42 attorneys general in October in blanketing the country in coordinated federal and state court lawsuits against Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instagram, for knowingly deploying harmful features on Instagram and its other platforms to purposely addict young people--unleashing a youth mental health catastrophe. And we know that Meta is not the only bad actor in social media. Other investigations—including into TikTok—are active and ongoing and we will use the full weight of our enforcement authority to force this broken industry to respect the law and the wellbeing of our children.
This year brought our second major settlement with Google-- a $700 million multistate agreement securing direct compensation for consumers and forcing sweeping reforms to restore fair competition to the Google Play Store marketplace. This comes on the heels of our $391.5 million multistate settlement with Google last year over its location tracking practices. We are actively litigating two additional major antitrust cases involving Google’s search and ad technology.
Also this year, Connecticut joined the Federal Trade Commission and 16 other states in suing Amazon, alleging that it engaged in anticompetitive and unfair strategies to illegally maintain its monopoly and harm small businesses and consumers. I expect 2024 to be a very busy year for our office when it comes to holding Big Tech accountable.
Standing Up for Connecticut Families and Workers
Far too many Connecticut families struggle to afford basic life necessities—safe housing, utilities, healthcare. That’s why over the course of this past year my office has intervened on behalf of Connecticut families to scrutinize and oppose double-digit rate hike requests from electric, gas, water, and health insurance companies. When United Illuminating sought a bloated and unsupported $130.7 million rate hike, we exposed and opposed every unnecessary expense and fought to hold the company accountable for its ongoing obligations to remediate the abandoned English Station power plant in New Haven. This resulted in a strong decision saving Connecticut families millions of dollars.
We also intervened in a request by Eversource-owned Aquarion—helping to stave off a 30 percent requested increase in water bills. We also exposed health insurers’ unjustified and unsupported double-counting and inflated cost estimates and forced insurers to shockingly concede that they do not negotiate the cost of individual procedures with hospitals and providers. This coming year, we will be pushing for state-level reform to address the broken incentive structure and negotiation dynamics between insurers and healthcare providers that contribute to the ever-rising cost of healthcare.
This past year, we also fought on behalf of Connecticut workers and families denied fair wages and deceived for simply trying to better their lives and advance their careers. We’ve sued defunct for-profit nursing school Stone Academy and its leaders, who we allege siphoned millions of dollars while students were deprived of a promised education. Separately, we are seeking to recover millions of dollars in unpaid wages owed to food service employees at Connecticut’s 23 service plazas. These workers did their job, and they deserve to be paid their full compensation.
Protecting our Climate and Environment for Generations to Come
Our climate deception case against ExxonMobil continues, with a major victory this fall before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, affirming what we have always argued—this is a Connecticut consumer protection case that squarely belongs in state court. We are ready to aggressively prosecute this case in Connecticut, to uncover and expose ExxonMobil’s lies, and to hold the company accountable for the massive harm its deception caused to our environment, public health, and economy.
Connecticut is also emerging as a leader on protecting residents from the environmental and health harms caused by plastic and plastic waste. We have led multistate coalitions sounding the alarm over pervasive plastic microfiber pollution, urging federal agencies to strengthen protections for public health and the safety of our oceans. We are continuing to prosecute our lawsuit against Reynolds for deceptively marketing its “recycling bags.”
We have been focused over the past several years on PFAS “forever chemicals” and the serious environmental and public health risks they pose--consistently seeking stronger regulations and protections against these highly toxic chemical compounds. We are working closely with other states and expect to deliver big news on this front in the new year.
Defending Reproductive Freedom
The fall of Roe v. Wade last year was a prelude to what we have witnessed this year-- extremist lawsuits and legislation seeking to micromanage and criminalize the personal and professional healthcare decisions of women, patients and doctors. This includes radical litigation filed this year seeking to upend the long-standing federal approval of mifepristone, which has been safely used for abortion and miscarriage care for over two decades. Instead of taking this fight sitting down, Connecticut went on offense, filing our own challenge in federal court in Washington State to protect access to mifepristone and medication abortion. This fight will land at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024, where we will be actively involved to protect access to safe and legal reproductive healthcare.
Despite the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs and this onslaught of partisan attacks, abortion remains safe, legal and accessible in Connecticut today, and we’re fighting like hell to keep it that way. This year, I appointed two assistant attorneys general and skilled litigators as Special Counsel for Reproductive Rights, recognizing the gravity of this work and the severe threats we see ahead. In every court, in every case this past year where reproductive freedom was under threat, we were there. We filed amicus briefs in courts across the country to defend access to safe, legal abortion, birth control, and the rights of medical professionals to do their jobs unfettered by partisanship.
Taking on the Entire Addiction Industry
Over the past four years, Connecticut has led nationwide efforts to secure more than $50 billion to combat the opioid epidemic. Connecticut will receive $600 million to support treatment, prevention, and recovery. That money has begun to flow, and I have visited communities across Connecticut to discuss how to access these critical funds.
We are taking on the entire addiction industry, and that does not end with the opioid manufacturers. Last year, Connecticut led 34 states and territories in brokering a $435.8 million settlement with JUUL over youth vaping. This year, I secured legislation to direct Connecticut’s $16 million share to our community-based Regional Behavioral Health Action Organizations to ensure those dollars are best used to combat youth vaping and nicotine use. We've also been active and aggressive in taking on illegal cannabis sales, particularly the proliferation of bootleg look-alike “snacks” infused with potent THC.
We’ve sent clear warning letters to every licensed vape retailer and have filed enforcement actions against multiple shops found selling these dangerous youth-oriented products. Our enforcement efforts are active and ongoing, and will escalate in the coming months.
Here to Help
We close this year confident, affirmative, and strong—with a commitment to do all that we can each and every day to improve the lives and futures of Connecticut families. Sometimes that’s multi-billion-dollar national litigation, and sometimes that’s being the voice on the other end of the line when someone needs help. This past year alone, our Consumer Advocacy Section fielded thousands of calls made to our Elder Justice Hotline, assisting with everything from fraud and neglect to healthcare access.
Whether you’ve been scammed by a home improvement contractor, you’re getting the runaround from an airline, or you’ve been denied access to coverage and benefits you deserve, we are here to fight for you. Please don’t hesitate to call our office at 860-808-5420 or file a complaint at: CT Attorney General: e-Complaint Form.
None of this would be possible without the extraordinary work of our 300 attorneys, paralegals and staff. To each and every one of you—thank you.
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Media Contact:
Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov
Consumer Inquiries:
860-808-5318
attorney.general@ct.gov