Junk Fees Defeat Transparency Labels

Updated: 2025.10.14 7D ago 2 sources
ISPs responded to broadband price‑label rules by multiplying discretionary line‑item fees, making full disclosure unwieldy. The FCC is now proposing to remove fee itemization, weakening a tool meant to stop misleadingly low advertised prices. This illustrates how disclosure‑only policies can be gamed by strategic complexity. — It highlights the limits of transparency mandates and the risk of regulatory capture in consumer markets, informing how policymakers design effective, enforceable protections.

Sources

California Cracks Down on 'Predatory' Early Cancellation Fees
msmash 2025.10.14 70% relevant
The article shows California moving beyond disclosure‑only fixes by capping early termination fees at 30% and banning buried disclosures—an example of shifting from easily gamed transparency to structural limits on junk‑fee tactics in subscriptions and installment plans.
ISPs Created So Many Fees That FCC Will Kill Requirement To List Them All
msmash 2025.10.09 100% relevant
FCC Chair Brendan Carr scheduled an NPRM to eliminate fee itemization from broadband labels after cable/telecom lobbying and one year after the rule took effect.
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