In context: First, Apple began requiring apps on the App Store to display privacy “nutrition labels” in their descriptions. Now the FCC is considering rules to require broadband Internet providers to post “nutrition labels” on their services rather than hide them in the fine print of their contracts.
On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Announced it would be taking a page out of the Food and Drug Administration’s rulebook and applying it to Internet Service Providers (ISPs). a proposed set of rules approved by all four commissioners would require ISPs to provide consumers with more transparency about their services with labeling based on food nutrition labels.
“In a grocery store, nutrition labels make it easy to compare calories and carbohydrates,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said this morning via Twitter. “We need the same simple labels for broadband, so we can compare prices, speed and data. No more fine print rates.”
In a grocery store, nutrition labels make it easy to compare calories and carbohydrates. We need the same simple labels for broadband, so we can compare price, speed, and data. No more fine print charges. That’s why the FCC is launching an effort to develop #broadband nutritional labels.
—Jessica Rosenworcel (@JRosenworcel) January 27, 2022
Rosenworcel points to the tendency of broadband providers to impose hidden fees and service limitations on consumers such as modem rentals, upload speeds and data caps. By subscribing to the service, consumers are often left alone to find these things. Many customers have complained about receiving bills with undisclosed fees that reach 50 percent of the advertised subscription fee or more.
Under the proposed rules, providers must clearly display both the contracted promotional rate and the regular price of each service plan. They will also have to disclose any data limits and their overage charges. Other costs such as modem rental, government taxes, and additional fees must also be shown.
The FCC hopes to do away with vague and misleading language used to describe speeds by making labels contain “typical” upload and download speeds. Today, most carriers advertise their plans using the maximum speeds that can be achieved and inserting “up to” in the advertising language: “With incredible speeds of up to 400 Mbps…” Typical speeds, along with latency and packet loss information, provide a more accurate representation. what the customer can expect.
It is not clear if the rules will ultimately change anything regarding the service provided or the costs to the consumer. Since broadband providers essentially run an oligopoly, these new rules simply mean that they will have to openly mislead the customer rather than hide it.
