GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - MUST READ! Proposed legislation regarding online continuity billing

To piggyback the cross selling issues that have been going on in adult, here is whats happening in the mainstream!

Thought it might be interesting read.

Today, the Commerce Committee released its proposed legislation regarding online continuity billing. haThe legislation was brought following a number of hearings by the Committee that found that many online merchants including Affinion, Vertue, and Webloyalty used a set of online sales tactics to charge millions of consumers for membership clubs and services the consumers were unaware they had purchased.

The Committee's staff report found that these companies bilked millions of Americans out of more than one billion dollars by partnering with hundreds of legitimate websites that were willing to share their customers' billing information, including credit and debit card numbers.

The proposed legislation would bar "data-pass" and require all negative option merchants to send an email to the consumer prior to each charge and allow consumers to cancel via telephone and email.

Specifically the legislation would:

1. Bar data-pass to post transaction third party merchants;

2. Require post transaction third party merchants, before obtaining the purchaser's billing information, to clearly and conspicuously disclose to the purchaser all material terms of the transaction including:

a. a description of the goods and services;
b. the fact that the third party merchant is not affiliated with the initial transaction.

2. haRequire companies that use "negative options" on the Internet to meet certain minimum disclosure and enrollment requirements, including clearly and conspicuously disclosing

a. the name of the merchant,
b. a description of the goods or services
c. the cost of the goods or services
d. when billing will begin and at what intervals the charges will occur,
e. the length of any trial period, including a statement that the consumer's account will be charged unless the consumer takes action to cancel, and
f. the steps the consumer must take to avoid the charge.

3. Require all negative option merchants to:

a. haenable the consumer to stop recurring charges from being made through a simple process that is available via the Internet AND telephone.
b. hasend an email, not less than 10 days prior to the initiation of EACH charge, that clearly and conspicuously discloses:
ha1. that the charge will be made
ha2. the amount of the charge
ha3. description of the goods and services
ha4. instructions for stopping the recurring charges in accordance the law.

In the following URL, please find the proposed legislation that was released today from the Senate's Commerce Committee. hahttp://commerce.senate.gov/public/?a=Files.Serve&File_id=34de7a0c-ad3e-431a-a1ad-131c5e146833

Also, in the following URL, please find a copy of today's press release from the Committee.
http://commerce.senate.gov/public/in...9-7b18e32fd69d