United States of America: Opened consultation on FTC advance notice on Unfair or Deceptive Fees Trade Regulation Rule

On 8 November 2022, the public consultation opens on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advance notice on Unfair or Deceptive Fees Trade Regulation Rule, until 9 January 2023. The Rule aims to address the “junk fees”, “hidden fees”, and “drip pricing” that businesses, including online platforms and advertisers, are leaving at consumers. In its advance notice, the FTC defines “junk fees” as deceptive and unfair fees, and “hidden fee” encompasses fees that are disclosed in the last step in the purchasing process and lack transparency. Furthermore, in the proposed rule, 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. The Advanced Notice also outlined findings from two studies that noted that in the absence of regulation, “online platforms have strong incentives to hide fees and that drip pricing lowers consumers’ perceived price fairness”. The Advanced Notice also sought feedback on whether any such rule requiring all-in pricing should apply to all industries and whether it would be better if only applied to specific industries.