United States of America: Closed consultation on FTC notice of proposed rulemaking on Trade Regulation Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees

On 8 January 2024, the public consultation closed on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) notice on Unfair or Deceptive Fees Trade Regulation Rule. The notice addresses the comments that were made during the advance notice and expands the definition of "junk fees", "hidden fees", and "drip pricing" that businesses, including online platforms and advertisers, charge consumers. In its notice, the FTC defined "junk fees" as deceptive and unfair fees and "hidden fees" as fees that are disclosed in the last step in the purchasing process and lack transparency. Furthermore, the FTC aims to regulate "drip pricing", understood as the advertisement of only one part of the product price and disclosing the additional charges after the purchase. By forbidding "drip pricing", the FCT enables comparison shopping where businesses are required to disclose all fees when quoting prices. The proposed rule also empowers the FTC to secure refunds for affected consumers and impose monetary penalties on non-compliant companies.