Sec.  76.981   Negative option billing.

   (a)  A cable operator shall not charge a subscriber for any service or
   equipment that the subscriber has not affirmatively requested by name. A
   subscriber's failure to refuse a cable operator's proposal to provide such
   service or equipment is not an affirmative request for service or equipment.
   A subscriber's affirmative request for service or equipment may be made
   orally or in writing.

   (b) The requirements of paragraph (a) of this section shall not preclude the
   adjustment of rates to reflect inflation, cost of living and other external
   costs,  the  addition or deletion of a specific program from a service
   offering, the addition or deletion of specific channels from an existing
   tier or service, the restructuring or division of existing tiers of service,
   or  the  adjustment  of rates as a result of the addition, deletion or
   substitution of channels pursuant to  Sec. 76.922, provided that such changes do
   not constitute a fundamental change in the nature of an existing service or
   tier of service and are otherwise consistent with applicable regulations.

   (c) State and local governments may not enforce state and local consumer
   protection laws that conflict with or undermine paragraph (a) or (b) of this
   section or any other sections of this Subpart that were established pursuant
   to Section 3 of the 1992 Cable Act, 47 U.S.C. 543.

   [ 59 FR 62625 , Dec. 6, 1994]