Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Announces Landmark “Click-to-Cancel” Consumer Protection Rules to Ban Subscription Traps and Junk Fees
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
It's the dramatic pause that makes it worthwhile. Good morning, everyone. It is a pleasure to be here at this rec center alongside so many friends, fellow New Yorkers and partners in government. And I want to thank the members of our administration for all of their work in making today possible, whether it is our deputy mayor for economic justice, Julie Su, [or] our commissioner of DCWP, Sam Levine. I also want to thank our former chair of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan — and a co-chair of our transition — as well as State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, who is here with us and who is the chair of the New York State Senate's Internet and Technology Committee and has been a fighter when it comes to this issue. Now, in Adam Sandler's criminally underrated 2006 film, “Click,” Christopher Walken, in his role as Morty the angel of death, begs us to “consider the leprechaun.” “He's always chasing the pot of gold,” Walken says, “but when he gets there at the end of the day, it's just cornflakes.” Whether it's an internet provider or a commercial gym, too many in our city have made and developed the bad habit of disguising cornflakes as gold. New Yorkers reckon with it as almost every part of the customer experience — when they are not told how much something truly costs and when they get a mess of hidden fees that they never signed up for, cannot cancel and cannot afford. Life in our city is already hard enough. New Yorkers already feel a pit in their stomach as they check out at the grocery store. They scrimp and save to make rent. They sit at kitchen tables with piles of bills, wondering how they'll ever be able to afford all of them. The last thing that New Yorkers need on top of all of that are airlines or credit card companies making life even harder by trapping them in a web of hidden costs. Those traps are concealed when you book a hotel, when you buy concert tickets, or when you finally cave and get that free trial to watch the World Cup. It might be a $5 surcharge, or it might be an added $20 at the end of every month. Either way, it adds up fast. It is estimated that the average family of four loses more than $3,200 per year on junk fees and hidden costs. New Yorkers already struggling to afford the basics simply do not have that kind of money to lose. And it's not just working people who suffer as a result of these costs — it's also businesses that operate with integrity and play by the rules. City Hall will not sit idly by while some exploit those same working businesses and people to pad bottom lines. Four days after I took office in January, I signed two executive orders to hold these kinds of abuses accountable and to crack down on junk fees, on subscription traps and deceptive practices in New York City. Then, we were also in State Senator Kristen Gonzalez's district. Today, I am proud to announce that we are taking this work a step further with two new rules that we're enacting under the authority of our consumer protection law. First, we will be launching the nation's first-ever Click-to-Cancel rule. Because if you can sign up with one click, you should be able to cancel with one quick. Second, we are enacting a new junk fees rule that will require fully transparent, all-in pricing. That means no additional costs, fees or charges after you've already made that purchase. Together, these laws are estimated to save New Yorkers more than $162 million per year. And for any who have built a business model on hidden fees and exploitation, consider this to be an official notice. If you violate either of these rules, you will be held accountable to the tune of $525 per violation. And just like those junk fees, I promise it does add up, and it does so quickly. New Yorkers have enough to worry about without these kinds of hidden costs weighing on their minds. No longer will our city be a playground for those who think they can make a quick buck on the backs of hiding this kind of information from New Yorkers. City government will instead be standing alongside New Yorkers who deserve to know what they are paying for, businesses that operate ethically and transparently like so many across our city do, and against those that harm millions of working people. Thank you so much.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I think first and foremost, this falls firmly within DCWP's legal authority as it is regarding companies that are transacting with New York City residents. These are rules that will be put into effect on October 1 of this year so that companies have time to be able to comply with them before DCWP begins its enforcement. And I do also just want to credit New Yorkers because it is thanks to their complaints that they made to 311 and through DCWP's online portal that we were actually able to secure the close to $2 million that [the] DCWP commissioner referred to earlier when it came to the settlement this week. So much of this is only possible because New Yorkers have alerted us as to where these kinds of practices are flourishing across our city. I don't know if anyone else wants to add any additional details.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think you've heard from a number of us this morning around specific sectors where New Yorkers have found themselves trapped in subscriptions time and again, whether it be the location that we're all gathered here today in terms of gym memberships or it has to do with even airlines, credit cards [and] things of that nature. I don't know if our commissioner would like to add anything.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI would say we would not be standing here were it not for the leadership of Lina Khan and of Sam Levine and Julie Su, all at the federal level. And it served to create an inspiration and an example for what municipal policy could look like. And we want to make it very clear, as you just heard from State Senator Gonzalez, that this is possible to do. Because so often the knock that a progressive policy receives is that it's a good idea, but it can actually be implemented. And now we're showing, in fact, that Click-to-Cancel is something that can be implemented. It can be just as easy to cancel a membership as it is to start a membership. And we're looking forward to using the power of example to show that this isn't just an intellectual victory; it's a victory that will be measured in more than $160 million that New Yorkers will save.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe're first gonna start with Cher fans who've been taken advantage of. No, I'm just kidding. I'm gonna pass it over to our DCWP commissioner.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceAnd I'll just add one additional point, which is that we are looking to make it as easy as possible for businesses to comply with this. This is done out of a desire to make an even playing field across the city, one where consumers are not being taken advantage of and one where businesses who play by the rules are not feeling like they're being left by the wayside. And so, we are going to give businesses months in order to comply [with] this before enforcement begins. And all of that comes back to the fact that there's no desire to be punitive for punitive sake. There is a desire, however, to ensure that people are not being taken advantage of.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, this map was initially created by the prior administration in 2023, and when we inherited it, we added a few additional neighborhoods. It's clearly not an exhaustive list of the more than 200 ethnic communities that call our city home, and we're going to be making additional changes in the future to reflect that and that includes adding Little Italy to the map.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, when I was the Assembly member for Astoria and Long Island City, we were hearing complaints from constituents about an aspect of this, which is also the theft of cards and the inability for all of the protective measures that should be in place to actually be in play. So, I'm aware of that conversation as it was happening at the state level, but I will follow up on the conversation around compensation and the comparison to California's law.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo quite a few there. Taylor Swift will be paying — has paid already — the cost of the permit that was lodged, which was over $160,000 for that event and for the response to that event. And that was a permit that was finalized, I think, just the days before the event itself. Now when it comes to this summer, as you heard it from State Senator Gonzalez, as being a summer where we've not only had the Knicks' first championship of 53 years, the World Cup, [and] our nation's 250th anniversary, a number of what are both historical and generational events. We have made clear that there would be limitations in terms of what the city would be able to do. However, that would not actually limit New Yorkers' ability to go to the park, to have a barbecue [or] to have a lot of the things that were feared about at first. And then, I will be following up on the earlier questions around SNAP.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I'll just take this opportunity, Marcia, to first give New Yorkers a sense of where we are at this moment. Right now, we have 46 New Yorkers who have tested positive for Legionnaires’. As of this time, there have been no New Yorkers who have lost their lives as a result of this outbreak. Now, if you live, work or have visited the area since late June and are experiencing flu-like symptoms, whether that is a cough, fever, or difficulty breathing, I would encourage you to contact a healthcare provider. Now, there are times when there are outbreaks of Legionnaires’ where New Yorkers have concerns as to whether this impacts their ability to drink tap water, to bathe, to use an air conditioning system. This does not impact that; you are fully safe to continue to use all of those different aspects of living in our city. And to your point, we have completed sampling and testing [on] every single one of the cooling towers in the affected area. And that is alongside taking an aggressive posture, where we have ordered every single one of those buildings to clean and disinfect their cooling towers on the basis of our initial testing results. Now, we're going to release a full list of potential addresses shortly [and] we are in touch with the Department of Health on that. I know that in prior administrations, that hasn't been an approach they've taken, but we want to be transparent with New Yorkers about this. We're looking to do it as quickly as we can. And what we're also looking to make clear is that this is something that will continue to be a top priority for our health department. Yes, it's safe to drink tap water, to bathe, to shower, to cook [and] to use the AC.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I will get back to you on the first question and I think where we've wanted to focus our efforts is first on anywhere that may be affected at this time and then start to expand that out. So, I'm glad that thanks to the Department of Health, their beginning of their work during the holiday weekend, at which point the cluster was at two people, to continue to expand that in terms of the cooling towers. I know that work's going to continue.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI haven't seen the video. I want to be clear on your first question: That meeting did not take place. It will not take place, and I did not know about it until there was a press inquiry regarding it. And when it comes to the work of our commissioner and our International Affairs Office, it's to ensure that as we are a city of the world, that we are also there to meet with leaders from across the world. The focus is always on our city and in our relationship. Thank you. The commissioner recognizes that this was made in error and we're working on a new process in terms of new meeting requests. Again, this was a request that came into the office, not one that originated from the office.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI've said that that meeting will not be taking place. ###
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Announces Landmark “Click-to-Cancel” Consumer Protection Rules to Ban Subscription Traps and Junk Fees.