California is cracking down on ‘predatory’ early cancellation fees.

California has enacted new legislation aimed at preventing companies from charging consumers “exorbitant” fees for canceling fixed-term contracts. Assembly Bill 483 was signed into law California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday issued transparency requirements and fee limits on early termination of installment contracts — plans that allow consumers to make recurring payments for goods and services over a specified term.

This includes services that entice consumers into signing annual contracts by letting them pay in installments that look similar to monthly renewable subscriptions, but with hefty cancellation fees for not locking in for a full year. The bill prohibits companies from concealing early termination fee disclosure within fine print or obscured hyperlinks, and limits the total amount of the fee to a maximum of 30 percent of the total contract cost. The goal is to make it easier for Californians to take these fees into account when comparing services, and ease the financial burden if they need to end their contract early.

“Too many Californians are shocked by outrageous early termination fees when they try to end an installment plan early,” California Assemblymember Jackie Irwin said in a press release. “With AB 483, Californians will know exactly what type of termination fees they may have to pay — and those fees will never exceed what is fair. Keeping these agreements transparent and predictable is a win-win for consumers across the state.”

The ad also calls out FCC Chairman Brendan Carr Weakening consumer protection -After I recently proposed Recover hidden ISP fees – It highlights that The US government files a lawsuit against Adobe For allegedly hiding expensive early cancellation fees and trapping consumers into expensive annual subscriptions. While the lawsuit against Adobe is ongoing, a new California law could set a national standard that would force the company to reform its contract termination practices.