The recent decision by the Eighth Circuit has affected the implementation of the “Click-to-Cancel” rule by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which was initially set to come into effect on July 14. New York Attorney General Letitia James highlighted this regulation, aimed at simplifying the process for consumers to cancel subscriptions and services that renew automatically.
This FTC regulation mandates that companies must make it as easy for consumers to cancel a subscription as it is to sign up. Consumers should be able to use the same method they used to register—be it online, in person, or over the phone—to cancel their subscriptions. The cancellation mechanism must be easy to find online, and consumers should not be required to speak with an agent unless they did so when signing up.
New York state law already protects consumers by requiring cancellation processes to be cost-effective, swift, and user-friendly. Attorney General James stated, “Los neoyorquinos nunca deberían tener que pasar por tantos obstáculos solo para cancelar una suscripción no deseada,” emphasizing that this new FTC regulation will ensure fair business practices. She encourages those facing difficulties in canceling subscriptions to report them to her office.
Additionally, the “Click-to-Cancel” rule requires businesses to inform users clearly about what they are agreeing to before subscribing with automatic renewal. Companies must ensure that critical information about subscriptions is truthful, clear, and easily accessible.
Attorney General James has been actively protecting New Yorkers from companies exploiting them with costly recurring subscriptions that are hard to cancel. In November 2024, she won a lawsuit against SiriusXM for trapping customers with unwanted subscriptions. In December 2023, she secured $740,000 from online mental health provider Cerebral due to its difficult cancellation process. Furthermore, in June 2023, she led a bipartisan group of 26 state attorneys general in submitting comments supporting changes leading to this new FTC regulation.
