The US government wants to make it easier for you to click the “unsubscribe” button

WASHINGTON (AP) In the name of consumer protection, many U.S. federal agencies are moving to make it easier for Americans to click the unsubscribe button on unwanted subscriptions and recurring payment services.

A major new government initiative, dubbed Time Is Money, includes rolling out new regulations and promising more measures for sectors ranging from health and fitness subscriptions to media subscriptions.

The administration is addressing all the ways that businesses, through red tape, wait times and general aggravation, are wasting people's money and time and actually holding on to their money, White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden told reporters Friday before the announcement.

In fact, in all of these practices, companies are delaying service or making it so difficult for them to cancel service that they can hold onto their money for longer and longer, Tanden said. These seemingly minor inconveniences don't happen by accident; they have huge financial consequences.

The efforts Monday include a new investigation by the Federal Communications Commission into whether to impose requirements on communications companies that would make it as easy to cancel a subscription or service as it is to sign up for one.

In March 2023, the Federal Trade Commission introduced “click to cancel” regulations requiring companies to make it as easy for customers to end their subscriptions as they started them.

Also Monday, the heads of the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services asked health insurance companies and group health plans to improve customer interactions with their health plans, and in the coming months they will identify additional opportunities to improve consumer interactions with the health care system, according to a White House summary.

The government has already launched several initiatives aimed at improving the consumer experience.

In October, the FTC announced a proposed rule to ban hidden and fictitious fees, which can obscure the full cost of concert tickets, hotel rooms and utility bills.

In April, the Transportation Department finalized rules that would require airlines to automatically issue cash refunds for things like delayed flights and better disclose fees for baggage or reservation cancellations.

The ministry has also taken action against companies accused of misleading customers.

In June, the Justice Department, acting on a request from the FTC, filed a lawsuit against software maker Adobe and two of its executives, Maninder Sawhney and David Wadhwani, for allegedly pushing consumers toward the company's annual paid monthly subscription without properly disclosing that canceling the plan in the first year could cost hundreds of dollars.

Dana Rao, Adobe's general counsel, said in an emailed statement that Adobe disagrees with the lawsuit's characterization of its business and that we will refute the FTC's allegations in court.

Early termination fees have a minimal impact on our revenue, representing less than half a percent of our total revenue globally, but are an important part of our ability to offer customers a choice of plans that balance cost and commitment, Rao said.

Some business advocates are not supportive of the government's overall efforts to crack down on unnecessary fees.

Sean Heather, senior vice president of international regulatory affairs and antitrust at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the move is nothing more than an attempt to micromanage companies' pricing structures, often undermining companies' ability to offer consumers options at different price points.

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