The Federal Communications Commission is proposing to eliminate penalties for early termination and other so-called junk fees from cable and direct broadcast satellite television providers. The agency will also be studying the impact of such practices on consumers, which it believes may be subject to undue hardship when penalized for things like moving, unexpected financial hardship or poor service. During its December Open Meeting last week, the FCC voted to adopt a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) to end what it appears to feel are unjustified fees that also potentially harm competition by adding costs to switching services.

Additionally, the NPR recommends the adoption of customer service protections that would require cable and DBS providers to grant subscribers a prorated credit or rebate for the remaining whole days in a monthly or periodic billing cycle after the subscriber cancels service.

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel introduced the proposal last month, resulting in a 3-2 party line vote this week. The matter will be open for comment before the FCC takes its next steps, which could include finalizing the rules.

The FCC said in a press release it was encouraged to move forward with the proposed rule change by a recent executive order from President Biden aimed at “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.”

StreamTV Insider writes that any resulting rules “wouldn’t apply to virtual MVPDs like YouTube TV or Hulu+ Live TV but would apply to MVPDs including cable and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) operators like Charter, Comcast, DirecTV and Dish Network.”

“Consumers are tired of these junk fees. They now have more choices when it comes to video content,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. “But these friction-filled tactics to keep us subscribing to our current providers are aggravating and unfair. So today we kick off a rulemaking to put an end to these practices.”

Multichannel News writes that cable and satellite operators are questioning whether the FCC has the authority to adopt such rules, and further feels “the rules would hurt their competitive position concerning video streamers that aren’t subject to the same FCC regulations.”