US President Joe Biden attends a press conference at the summit commemorating the 75th anniversary of NATO’s founding in Washington, US, on July 11, 2024.
Leah Millis | Reuters
The Biden administration on Monday announced a new multi-agency regulatory initiative targeting company practices that officials say are intended to waste consumers’ time and burden them with unnecessary red tape in order to maximize profits.
“I think this is something we can all relate to,” White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden told reporters Friday.
“Let’s say you want to cancel your gym membership or subscription service or newspaper. Before it only took you one or two clicks to sign up. Now you have to go in person or wait 20 minutes to cancel,” she said.
The initiative, called “Time is Money,” will make it easier for consumers to cancel subscriptions, get refunds, submit medical and insurance claims online and receive quality customer service.
The new effort comes at an extraordinary time for the Biden administration, as Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to unveil her first economic policy plan of the campaign this week.
A broad initiative like “Time is Money” could be an opportunity for Harris to further the Biden administration’s longstanding consumer protection mission in a new way.
US President Joe Biden and US Vice President Kamala Harris walk into the East Room to welcome the 2023 WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces, during a celebratory reception at the White House in Washington, USA, May 9, 2024.
Craig Hudson | Reuters
“In all of these actions, the companies are trying to hold onto customers’ money for longer and longer periods of time by delaying service or making it very difficult to cancel service,” Tanden said Friday.
Among the new efforts announced Monday is a series of rulemakings by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau aimed at targeting customer service “doom loops” and ineffective chatbots used by some financial institutions.
“The CFPB will determine whether the use of automated chatbots or automated artificial intelligence voice recordings is unlawful, including in situations where consumers believe they are speaking with a human being,” according to a White House fact sheet.
Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission is set to launch a parallel investigation into whether to extend the CFPB’s proposed customer service requirements to telephone, broadband and cable providers.
The second FCC investigation would consider adopting requirements similar to the Federal Trade Commission’s current requirements. Click to cancel Proposal: The FTC’s plan would require companies to make it as easy to cancel a subscription or membership as it is to sign up for it.
The initiative also requires health insurers to allow policyholders to submit claims online.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su will send letters to health insurers and group health plans on Monday urging them to “take concrete steps to save people time and money with their health insurance,” according to a White House fact sheet.
But not all of the “Time is Money” initiatives are new. Some are previously announced efforts, such as rules released in April by the Department of Transportation that require airlines to automatically issue cash refunds.
Another existing initiative the White House mentioned is a proposed FTC action in June 2023 to target companies that engage in deceptive practices that mislead customers. Feedback in PracticeFake reviews and more.
A senior administration official said none of the measures that make up the “Time is Money” initiative require congressional approval. With Republicans currently in control of the House of Representatives, it’s unlikely any new consumer protection legislation will become law.
Monday’s “time is money” initiative marks the latest step in a series of aggressive consumer protection measures the Biden administration has implemented over the past three years.
The White House has pursued an aggressive antitrust policy and taken an extremely skeptical stance toward cryptocurrencies, both of which have angered Wall Street.
President Joe Biden has also led the fight against what he calls “unfair and illegal pricing practices,” including so-called junk charges, corporate “price gouging” and shrinkflation.
Still, a White House official insisted to reporters on Friday that “this is not an attempt to shame the entire company.”
Instead, the “Time is Money” initiative marks “new ground in consumer protection,” the official said. “That’s what we think.”
