---
kind: "section"
citation: "47 C.F.R. § 76.981"
title: "47"
number: "76.981"
heading: "Negative option billing."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/47/76.981"
---

# §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)](#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 [§ 76.922](/cfr/47/76.922.md), 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)](#a) or [(b)](#b) of this section or any other sections of this subpart that were established pursuant to [Section 3](/cfr/47/3.md) of the 1992 Cable Act, [47 U.S.C. 543](/usc/47/543.md).

## Notes

### Amendments

[59 FR 62625, Dec. 6, 1994]

### Source

Source: 58 FR 29753, May 21, 1993, unless otherwise noted.

### Authority

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 153, 154, 301, 302, 302a, 303, 303a, 307, 308, 309, 312, 315, 317, 325, 335, 338, 339, 340, 341, 503, 521, 522, 531, 532, 534, 535, 536, 537, 543, 544, 544a, 545, 548, 549, 552, 554, 556, 558, 560, 561, 562, 571, 572, 573.

### Source

Source: 37 FR 3278, Feb. 12, 1972, unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[59 FR 62625, Dec. 6, 1994]