Internet service providers introduce "nutrition labels" for consumers

Caroline Woods brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets close for trading Wednesday, April 10.

Full Video Transcript Below:

CAROLINE WOODS: I’m Caroline Woods reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.

Investors are reacting to a hotter than expected inflation report. Consumer prices rose 3.5 percent in March, above Wall Street expectations of 3.4 percent. Markets are now awaiting Thursday’s Producer Price Index for further data on inflation. These reports will be crucial when the Federal Reserve makes its next decision on interest rates in May.

In other news, internet service providers will now be forced to lay out the exact fees users may encounter as part of a new FCC ruling. The Federal Communications Commission is now requiring internet companies to publish what it calls “nutrition labels” aimed at giving users full transparency over a plan's cost, download speed, and policy information.

The design looks something like nutrition facts on food packaging and will display details about early termination fees, data caps, and any extra government taxes. The new labels are required to be displayed both online and in-store and must be easy to locate and not buried in the fine print.

This mandate comes as the industry has long faced complaints about confusing pricing structures and an overall lack of transparency. This is all part of a greater push by the Biden administration to eliminate junk fees and other misleading business practices. The FCC and the White House say the labels could help Americans save money.

The new requirement goes into effect on April 10th for providers with over 100,000 customers – smaller providers have until October.

That’ll do it for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m Caroline Woods with TheStreet.