Disney+ says prices could rise as it raises concerns over UK laws

New legislation would require Disney+ to remind its customers about their subscription every six months

Disney has raised concerns about new UK laws which will require it to remind its customers about their streaming subscription every six months.

Currently, Disney+ users sign up to the service and remain subscribed until they choose to cancel.

But new legislation would require streamers to send "reminder notices" to customers to make sure they are aware they remain subscribed.

The government said the bill would "ensure consumers get a fair deal".

But Disney said that it already provides "timely and clear notice" of its fees - which are £7.99 per month or £79.90 for a year.

According to Deadline, the company said the UK government's draft Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill was attempting to "micro-manage" the way subscription streamers interact with their customers.

Disney argues it currently makes it easier for users to cancel their contract than to subscribe in the first place.

'Game the system'

The company also suggested email reminders could have a counterproductive effect because it will make users more likely to ignore the messages they receive.

In a submission to the Lords Communications and Digital Committee, Disney said: "The combination of the market imperatives, consumer preferences, our practice of providing timely and clear notice of the recurring fee and the ease of terminating the agreement should obviate the need for mandated renewal notices.

"At a minimum, it obviates the need for the micro-managing of how and when these notices should be sent, which is a serious flaw in the draft bill that fails to recognise that it could lead to consumer's ignoring notices."

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Disney requested the UK government limit the reminder notices to sectors that have a track record of "attempting to trap their consumers".

This "obviously does not apply to SVODs [subscription videos on demand]," it added.

Disney also raised concerns about the bill's effort to introduce a 14-day cooling-off period for digital subscription services.

The company argues that this will allow consumers to "game the system" by subscribing, consuming all the content they want in two weeks, and then cancelling.

Disney said that such behaviour could result in price rises for loyal customers.

"This would allow these bad actors to benefit from our service without compensation to the detriment of the vast majority of good actors as it could likely result in a price increase given the reduction in the subscriber base and the high cost of producing high-quality content," it said.

A Department of Business and Trade spokesperson told BBC News: "The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill aims to boost competition in online markets currently dominated by a small number of firms - delivering on the government's commitment to grow the economy through increasing consumer choice and accelerating innovation.

"Our new bill will ensure consumers get a fair deal while not overburdening businesses with regulatory barriers."