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Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

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'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032

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Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
Tech

California Wants to Make It Easier to Cancel Your Cable Bill

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Hilary Brueck
Hilary Brueck
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By
Hilary Brueck
Hilary Brueck
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March 31, 2016, 11:18 AM ET
Time Warner Ride Along As Profit Estimates And Ad Revenue Increases
A customer exchanges cable boxes at the Time Warner Cable store in Torrance, California, U.S., on Monday, Aug. 12, 2013. Time Warner Cable Inc. said it's talking with CBS Corp., after a breakdown in negotiations led the cable provider to block its customers from seeing the network. Photographer: Patrick Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Patrick Fallon — Bloomberg via Getty Images

If you can sign up for cable online, you should be able to opt out online, too.

That’s the argument in California where a new bill was just introduced in the state legislature. If passed, it would require cable companies to let customers cancel their cable service online with a click of a button.

“There are times when we, as the legislature, need to step in to protect consumers and make people’s lives a little easier,” Los Angeles Assemblyman Mike Gatto wrote in a release.

Assemblyman Gatto says no one should have to suffer through the pain of an 18-minute phone debacle to quit their cable service, like former Engadget editor in chief Ryan Block did in his Comcast customer service call that went viral.

Comcast Just Struck A Huge Deal With Amazon:

Cable providers have a reputation for being some of consumers’ least favorite companies. Comcast has even admitted to being “embarrassed” about its own track record.

The Philadelphia-based company promises it is trying to get better at the customer service game, though. The cable provider just struck a deal with Amazon to sell TV, Internet, and phone service through the Amazon Cable Store, a move that’s meant to minimize clicks (and hassle) for customers.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

But it’s not just in California where cable companies could soon be forced to make changes to the way they do business.

The Federal Communications Commission is also considering a new rule that would let consumers buy their own set-top cable boxes, instead of being forced to rent them from their cable companies. That could propel more competition from third-party service providers such as Google and TiVo—all at a time when Time Warner and Comcast cable prices are soaring higher than ever.

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