It always takes a new administration a while to start implementing new ideas and initiatives, and we’re finally seeing many consumer-friendly initiatives from the Biden administration coming to fruition after four years.

The White House recently announced a Time is Money initiative that would require corporations to implement customer-friendly practices to eliminate long hold times and excessive paperwork for customers. The announcement for the initiative said, “Companies often deliberately design their business processes to be time-consuming or otherwise burdensome for consumers in order to deter them from getting a rebate or refund they are due or canceling a subscription or membership they no longer want – all with the goal of maximizing profits.”

This is a follow-up to a proposed rule from the Federal Trade Commission in March that would require companies to make it as easy to cancel service as it is to subscribe. They are calling this a click-to-cancel initiative.

Additionally, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has initiated a rulemaking that would provide customers the ability to talk to a human by pressing a single button. That would put a crimp on companies that are trying to provide customer service using only AI chatbots. This would also eliminate having to wade through interminable mazes of bot questions to talk to somebody.

Earlier this year, the White House issued an executive order to eliminate junk fees, which are hidden fees for services that are not advertised to customers. The FCC reacted to that order by proposing rules to eliminate the gigantic hidden fees for cable TV service that can sometimes double the advertised price of a cable package.

I’ve read that the FCC is thinking of taking up a few of these issues, although the recent court ruling that puts Title II regulation on hold could put a real crimp in that effort. The FCC might have to defer to more generic rules from the FTC rather than having industry-specific rules for broadband.

I am sure there are those that who will say that the government shouldn’t be meddling in how companies treat their customers. However, that is one of the basic role for regulators. Regulators are supposed to balance the need of consumers with the needs of the companies they regulate. In the broadband world, regulation have often tended to favor big companies over consumers.

Sadly, giant companies inevitably adopt bad practices in the search for higher profits. Even big companies with good intentions will stray over time to have harsh and abusive policies for customers, and regulators need to step in to stop the worst practices of big companies. As is to be expected, big ISPs are at the forefront of those lobbying against all of these efforts to make them treat customers better.

Interestingly, at least in the broadband world, smaller ISPs engage in very few of the bad practices being that are being addressed by the various federal regulators. Small ISPs understand that their marketing advantage is offering friendly live customer service for customers and otherwise treating customers right.

I find it funny that these various regulatory initiatives are aimed at making large ISPs act more like small ones. Since big ISPs have most of the customers in the country, this is needed. However, small companies thrive best when their big competitors act poorly.