The Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal to bar landlords from charging tenants in bulk for cable, Internet and satellite services, giving them more choice in the types of services they need.
The agency is circulating a proposed rule to ban the practice of “bulk billing,” the White House announced in a press release Tuesday ahead of President Joe Biden’s meeting with his competition council. It’s part of a broader effort to promote policies that would lower costs for Americans, as Biden seeks to appeal to economy-focused voters as he seeks re-election later this year. The topic of deflation will come up again in Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday, National Economic Adviser Lyle Brainard told reporters on a call on Monday.
The White House said in a press release that bulk billing limits consumer choice by limiting the prices and levels of cable and Internet service available to them. The White House said the new proposal would also target other “special arrangements” between landlords and service providers, such as special wiring and marketing arrangements or revenue sharing agreements.
The Biden administration is also promoting the development of its previous actions to reduce junk fees, additional unexpected charges that companies including banks, car rental agencies, and event ticket sellers. Several different agencies are working on proposals to crack down on wasteful fees, including the Federal Trade Commission, which proposed a rule last fall that would require businesses to disclose the full value of required fees, rather than hide additional fees. . The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also announced Tuesday that it is finalizing a rule to reduce credit card late fees from an average of $31 to $8. The Council of Economic Advisers, an internal White House agency, found that these actions would reduce junk fees by a total of more than $20 billion a year — less than the estimated $90 billion a year.
