The FTC and CFPB are Coming for ​“Junk Fees,” but What Does that Really Mean?

The FTC’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) seeking comment on a potential rule prohibiting ​“junk fees” and related practices hit the Federal Register yesterday. The rule has the potential to fundamentally alter how fees are disclosed in advertising and across the customer experience in nearly every industry that charges some type of fee. Interested parties now have until January 9 to provide comments and feedback on the proposal. The ANPR’s publication follows a series of meetings and announcements by the FTC, CFPB, and President Biden that the administration was taking actions to prohibit so-called ​“junk fees” that ​“can weaken market competition, raise costs for consumers and businesses, and hit the most vulnerable Americans the hardest.”