Konkurencja i konsument · 14/05/1997

America Online, Inc.; Analysis to Aid Public Comment

In settlement of alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices and unfair methods of competition, this consent agreement, accepted subject to final Commission approval, would, among other things, require the respondent, an Internet service provider, 1), when offering a ``free trial'' with automatic membership enrollment or renewal, to disclose clearly and prominently any obligation to cancel to avoid charges and to provide at least one reasonable means of canceling; 2) to obtain consumers' authorization before debiting their accounts; ad 3) to run a consumer education program about electronic payment systems. The consent agreement also prohibits AOL from misrepresenting either the fees assessed for its services or the terms of electronic transfers from consumer accounts. The complaint accompanying the consent agreement alleges that AOL's ``free trial'' offers resulted in unexpected charges for many consumers, because the offers did not make clear that consumers had an affirmative obligation to cancel before the trial period ended. As a result, consumers who failed to cancel were automatically enrolled as members and began incurring monthly char