{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases/schatz-thune-warnock-kennedy-introduce-new-legislation-to-stop-deceptive-subscription-business-practices", "Schatz, Thune, Warnock, Kennedy Introduce New Legislation To Stop Deceptive Subscription Business Practices", "2021-06-16", "2021", "2021-06", "Democrat", "Senate", "HI", "Brian Schatz", "S001194", "www.schatz.senate.gov", "schatz", "https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai\u2018i), John Thune (R-S.D.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and John Kennedy (R-La.) today introduced the Unsubscribe Act. The bipartisan bill would require companies to be more transparent about their subscription-based business model and make it easier for consumers to cancel their subscriptions once their free or reduced price trial period has ended.\n\n\u201cThe subscription-based business model is exploding, and it\u2019s largely because of the deceptive practices that some companies use to lure and trap in customers. When people sign up for a free trial, they shouldn\u2019t have to jump through hoops just to cancel their subscription before being charged,\u201d said Senator Schatz. \u201cOur bill will require companies to be more transparent about their business model and make it easier for consumers to avoid costly, automatic monthly charges they never intended to make.\u201d\n\n\u201cConsumers want to know what they\u2019re signing up for, so the more transparency, the better when it comes to online subscriptions,\u201d said Senator Thune. \u201cIn addition to empowering online consumers by providing them with more information, this bill helps ensure they don\u2019t face the unwanted and unexpected fees that can sometimes be incurred.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe must protect consumers\u2019 dignity and their pockets from deceptive marketing practices that harm their ability to thrive in our economy. I am proud to sponsor this important legislation that will provide more protections and transparency to consumers to help ensure they\u2019re spending their well-earned dollars according to their goals and not wasting their money on deceitful practices,\u201d said Senator Warnock.\n\n\u201cFree trials should benefit consumers, not trick them into endless payments for a product they don\u2019t want. This bill would give customers who enter subscription trials a clear, easy way to cancel those subscriptions,\u201d said Senator Kennedy.\n\nFrom news to fashion, music to food, subscriptions are everywhere in today\u2019s economy. An important part of their success has been subscription-based businesses\u2019 utilization of reduced-cost or free entry deals for new customers. Theoretically, this allows customers to sample a product or service at a reduced price before committing themselves to the full cost of the subscription. A common practice is to use \u201cnegative option billing,\u201d which means that once the free trial is over, the subscription company automatically switches a customer to a full-cost subscription.\n\nUnfortunately, in order to retain customers, some subscription providers rely on deceptive marketing, confusing contracts, and restrictions that make it difficult for customers to cancel their subscriptions. For example, some subscriptions do not notify customers when the free trial has expired or that the customer will start to be charged for the full cost of their subscription. Or they will not allow a customer to cancel their subscription online or by email\u2014even if that is how the customer signed up in the first place. Instead, they require a customer to call in to a busy customer service line or send a cancellation by physical mail. This unduly burdensome process often results in customers paying for products and services they do not want and for which they may not even realize they are being charged.\n\nThe Unsubscribe Act would:\n\nRequire sellers to provide customers with a clear understanding of all the terms of the contract and obtain the customer\u2019s express and informed consent;\n\nRequire sellers to provide a simple means of canceling the subscription, which the customer can complete in the same way in which the original contract was entered into;\n\nRequire sellers to provide a clear notice to consumers when their free or reduced-cost trial is complete and before charging for the full-cost subscription;\n\nDisallow automatic transfer to a contract longer than one month; and\n\nRequire sellers to periodically notify the customer of the terms of the contract and the cancelation mechanism.\n\nCompanion legislation is being introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Representatives Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Ed Case (D-Hawai\u2018i), and Michael San Nicolas (D-Guam).\n\nThe Schatz-Thune legislation is supported by Consumer Action, Truth in Advertising, and the National Consumer League.\n\n\u201cFrom movies, to clothing, to food, to cosmetics, consumers are being marketed subscription services that are often easy to sign up for but hard to cancel,\u201d said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League. \u201cThat is why we need common-sense consumer protection legislation like the Unsubscribe Act. The bill will help consumers get the information they need to make an informed buying decision and allow them to easily cancel their subscriptions without getting the runaround.\u201d\n\n\u201cWith the lure of free trial offers, consumers can unknowingly be duped into a subscription deal that they never agreed to purchase,\u201d said Linda Sherry, Director of National Priorities at Consumer Action. \u201cThe Unsubscribe Act of 2021 will protect consumers by mandating that sellers clearly explain contract terms, provide plain notice of free trial expirations and make it simple for consumers to cancel a contract that they do not want.\u201d\n\nThe full text of the bill is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:57:00Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases/schatz-thune-warnock-kennedy-introduce-new-legislation-to-stop-deceptive-subscription-business-practices"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.176303882151842, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}