{"id":45436,"date":"2024-10-18T14:28:54","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T18:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=45436"},"modified":"2025-07-09T14:32:31","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T18:32:31","slug":"click-to-cancel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2024\/10\/18\/click-to-cancel\/","title":{"rendered":"Click-to-Cancel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2024\/10\/16\/ftc_tames_subscriptions\/\">Thomas Claburn<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/2024\/10\/17\/ftc-click-to-cancel-rule-end-subscriptions-easier\/\">MacRumors<\/a>):<\/p>\n<blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2024\/10\/16\/ftc_tames_subscriptions\/\"><p>The US Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday announced a final &ldquo;click-to-cancel&rdquo; rule that aims to simplify the process of ending unwanted subscriptions to products and services.<\/p><p>[&#8230;]<\/p><p>&ldquo;Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,&rdquo; said FTC Chair Lina Khan in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2024\/10\/federal-trade-commission-announces-final-click-cancel-rule-making-it-easier-consumers-end-recurring\">a statement<\/a>. &ldquo;The FTC&rsquo;s rule will end these tricks and traps, saving Americans time and money. Nobody should be stuck paying for a service they no longer want.&rdquo;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2024\/10\/federal-trade-commission-announces-final-click-cancel-rule-making-it-easier-consumers-end-recurring\">FTC<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/news.ycombinator.com\/item?id=41858665\">Hacker News<\/a>):<\/p>\n<blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2024\/10\/federal-trade-commission-announces-final-click-cancel-rule-making-it-easier-consumers-end-recurring\"><p>The final rule will provide a consistent legal framework by prohibiting sellers from:<\/p><ul><li>misrepresenting any material fact made while marketing goods or services with a negative option feature;<\/li><li>failing to clearly and conspicuously disclose material terms prior to obtaining a consumer&rsquo;s billing information in connection with a negative option feature;<\/li><li>failing to obtain a consumer&rsquo;s express informed consent to the negative option feature before charging the consumer; and<\/li><li>failing to provide a simple mechanism to cancel the negative option feature and immediately halt charges.<\/li><\/ul><\/blockquote>\n\n<p>While it was good that in some cases customers could get easier cancellation by paying for an additional layer such as the App Store, I think it makes sense to just make these bad practices illegal.<\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.techdirt.com\/2024\/10\/17\/new-ftc-rules-make-it-easier-to-cancel-services-punish-companies-for-being-annoying-little-shits-about-it\/\">Karl Bode<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/www.techdirt.com\/2024\/10\/17\/new-ftc-rules-make-it-easier-to-cancel-services-punish-companies-for-being-annoying-little-shits-about-it\/\"><p>Cemented by AOL in its heyday, and perfected by everybody from the Wall Street Journal to your broadband and wireless phone provider, corporate America loves to make it as annoying as possible to simply cancel services, often <em>actively hiding<\/em> any way to do so.<\/p><p>[&#8230;]<\/p><p>Most of the FTC&rsquo;s new guidelines will go into effect in 180 days, with some in effect within 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. The rulemaking updates started way back in 2019. There&rsquo;s a fact sheet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/system\/files\/ftc_gov\/pdf\/NegOptions-1page-Oct2024-v2.pdf\">here<\/a> that explains the proposal in more detail.<\/p><p>[&#8230;]<\/p><p>Trade groups representing everything from media companies and telecoms to car wash operations called the rules &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/ftc-takes-subscription-traps-with-click-cancel-rule-2024-10-16\/\">burdensome and unnecessary<\/a>.&rdquo; Publishers and Advertisers like the News\/Media Alliance also complained about the rules, insisting they would &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/publishers-and-advertisers-push-back-at-ftcs-click-to-cancel-proposal-de96960b\">confuse customers<\/a>&ldquo; (one alliance group member, the WSJ, worked for years to <a href=\"https:\/\/news.ycombinator.com\/item?id=28486114\">make subscription cancellation as annoying as humanly possible<\/a>, and didn&rsquo;t seem too upset about consumer confusion at the time). <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n<p>Previously:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/17\/u-s-sues-adobe-over-subscriptions\/\">U.S. Sues Adobe Over Subscriptions<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2023\/06\/23\/amazon-prime-dark-patterns-lawsuit\/\">Amazon Prime Dark Patterns Lawsuit<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2022\/07\/08\/amazon-to-drop-prime-cancellation-dark-patterns-in-europe\/\">Amazon to Drop Prime Cancellation Dark Patterns in Europe<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2021\/11\/19\/click-to-subscribe-call-to-cancel\/\">Click to Subscribe, Call to Cancel<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p id=\"click-to-cancel-update-2025-05-13\">Update (<a href=\"#click-to-cancel-update-2025-05-13\">2025-05-13<\/a>): <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/news\/664730\/ftc-delay-click-to-cancel-rule\">Wes Davis<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/news.ycombinator.com\/item?id=43962528\">Hacker News<\/a>):<\/p>\n<blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/news\/664730\/ftc-delay-click-to-cancel-rule\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\"><p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was set to start enforcing the remaining provisions of its &ldquo;click-to-cancel&rdquo; rule on May 14th, requiring that subscriptions be as easy to cancel as to start. Now, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/system\/files\/ftc_gov\/pdf\/negative-option-rule-delay-commission-statement.pdf\">the agency says<\/a> it won&rsquo;t enforce the rule until July 14th, as <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2025\/05\/10\/ftc-delays-enforcement-of-click-to-cancel-rule\/\"><em>TechCrunch <\/em>reports<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\"><p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1ymtmqpi _17nnmdy1 _17nnmdy0 _1xwtict1\">Also known as the Negative Option Rule, the big component of click-to-cancel is that it forbids companies from making customers jump through hoops that differ from the process to sign up for an account. If you can sign up online, you must be able to cancel online, too. As the FTC points out, the original May 14th deadline was already a deferral for that and related provisions.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p id=\"click-to-cancel-update-2025-07-09\">Update (<a href=\"#click-to-cancel-update-2025-07-09\">2025-07-09<\/a>): <a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/tech-policy\/2025\/07\/us-court-cancels-ftc-rule-that-would-have-made-canceling-subscriptions-easier\/\">Jon Brodkin<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/news.ycombinator.com\/item?id=44504699\">Hacker News<\/a>):<\/p>\n<blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/tech-policy\/2025\/07\/us-court-cancels-ftc-rule-that-would-have-made-canceling-subscriptions-easier\/\"><p>A federal appeals court today struck down a &ldquo;click-to-cancel&rdquo; rule that would have required companies to make cancelling services as easy as signing up. The Federal Trade Commission rule was scheduled to take effect on July 14 but was vacated by the US Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.<\/p><p>A three-judge panel ruled unanimously that the Biden-era FTC, then led by Chair Lina Khan, failed to follow the full rulemaking process required under US law. &ldquo;While we certainly do not endorse the use of unfair and deceptive practices in negative option marketing, the procedural deficiencies of the Commission&rsquo;s rulemaking process are fatal here,&rdquo; the <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.ca8.110200\/gov.uscourts.ca8.110200.00805299737.3.pdf\">ruling<\/a> said.<\/p><\/blockquote>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thomas Claburn (MacRumors): The US Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday announced a final &ldquo;click-to-cancel&rdquo; rule that aims to simplify the process of ending unwanted subscriptions to products and services.[&#8230;]&ldquo;Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,&rdquo; said FTC Chair Lina Khan in a statement. &ldquo;The FTC&rsquo;s rule will end [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2024-10-18T18:28:57Z","apple_news_api_id":"c93cb671-d172-4831-97dd-f61ca4bcf33f","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-09T18:32:33Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AyTy2cdFySDGX3fYcpLzzPw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[91,101,1156,31,209,1456,96],"class_list":["post-45436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-appstore","tag-business","tag-federal-trade-commission-ftc","tag-ios","tag-legal","tag-the-new-york-times","tag-web"],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45436"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48413,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45436\/revisions\/48413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}