Category: Policy/Tech
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The FTC is finally making it easier to cancel your gym membership
The US Federal Trade Commission is taking action against subscriptions that are difficult to get rid of. On Wednesday, it adopted a final “click-to-cancel” rule requiring businesses to make canceling a subscription as easy as signing up. Under the rule, businesses can’t force customers to cancel a subscription using a method different from how they signed up.…
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The FTC should stop tech companies from bricking their products, consumer groups say
A coalition of consumer protection and anti-waste groups wants the Federal Trade Commission to go after “software tethering,” or the practice of tying hardware’s functionality to external software — which often renders products unusable after software updates stop. The groups, including Consumer Reports, iFixIt, US PIRG, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Economic Justice,…
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California’s governor is trying to crack down on smartphones in schools
California Governor Gavin Newsom has pledged to “get smartphones out of schools.” “I look forward to working with the Legislature to restrict the use of smartphones during the school day. When children and teens are in school, they should be focused on their studies — not their screens,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.…