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In the name of consumer protection, a slew of U.S. federal agencies are working to make it easier for Americans to click the unsubscribe button for unwanted memberships<\/a> and recurring payment services.<\/p>\n A broad new government initiative, dubbed \u201cTime Is Money,\u201d includes a rollout of new regulations and the promise of more for industries spanning from healthcare and fitness memberships to media subscriptions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe administration is cracking down on all the ways that companies, through paperwork, hold times and general aggravation waste people\u2019s money and waste people\u2019s time and really hold onto their money,\u201d Neera Tanden, White House domestic policy adviser, told reporters Friday in advance of the announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cEssentially in all of these practices, companies are delaying services to you or really trying to make it so difficult for you to cancel the service that they get to hold onto your money for longer and longer,\u201d Tanden said. \u201cThese seemingly small inconveniences don\u2019t happen by accident \u2014 they have huge financial consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n Efforts being rolled out Monday include a new Federal Communications Commission inquiry into whether to impose requirements on communications companies that would make it as easy to cancel a subscription or service as it was to sign up for one.<\/p>\n The Federal Trade Commission in\u00a0March 2023 initiated<\/a>\u00a0\u201cclick to cancel\u201d rulemaking requiring companies to let customers end subscriptions as easily as they started them.<\/p>\n Also Monday, the heads of the departments of Labor and of Health and Human Services are asking health insurance companies and group health plans to make improvements to customer interactions with their health coverage, and \u201cin the coming months will identify additional opportunities to improve consumers\u2019 interactions with the health care system,\u201d according to a White House summary.<\/p>\n The government already has launched several initiatives aimed at improving the consumer experience.<\/p>\n In October, the FTC announced a proposed rule to\u00a0ban hidden and bogus junk fees<\/a>, which can mask the total cost of concert tickets, hotel rooms and utility bills.<\/p>\n In April, the Transportation Department finalized rules that would require airlines to automatically issue cash refunds for things like delayed flights and to better disclose\u00a0fees for baggage<\/a>\u00a0or reservation cancellations.<\/p>\n The department also has taken actions against individual companies accused of misleading customers.<\/p>\n In June, the Justice Department, referred by the FTC,\u00a0filed a lawsuit against software maker Adobe<\/a>\u00a0and two of its executives, Maninder Sawhney and David Wadhwani, for allegedly pushing consumers toward the firm\u2019s \u201cannual paid monthly\u201d subscription without properly disclosing that canceling the plan in the first year could cost hundreds of dollars.<\/p>\n\n