NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Joe Biden administration took another step in its push to combat so-called "junk fees" as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) mandated more price transparency for consumers shopping for live-event tickets and hotel rooms.
The FTC commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the new rule, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday. Republican Andrew Ferguson, who is slated to take over as chair in the incoming Donald Trump administration, was the lone dissenter.
"People deserve to know up front what they're being asked to pay -- without worrying that they'll later be saddled with mysterious fees that they haven't budgeted for and can't avoid," said FTC Chair Lina Khan. She said the new rule will save Americans "billions of dollars and millions of hours in wasted time."
According to the FTC, the rule will save consumers as much as 53 million hours each year spent searching for the true cost of tickets and lodging. That is equivalent to more than 11 billion U.S. dollars over the next 10 years, the agency said.
