FTC Pushed to Revive 'Click-to-Cancel' Rule After Court Defeat

Two consumer advocacy groups are formally petitioning the Federal Trade Commission to resurrect its "click-to-cancel" rule, which would force companies to make ending a subscription as easy as starting one.

• Subscription trap: The petition from the Consumer Federation of America and the American Economic Liberties Project argues that consumers are caught in "subscription traps"—practices that hook them into recurring charges that are "nearly impossible to cancel." The core idea is simple: if you can sign up for a service online, you shouldn't have to navigate a maze of menus or call someone to cancel.

• A procedural do-over: The effort revives a nearly identical regulation the FTC finalized in 2024 before it was struck down by a federal appeals court. The court's ruling hinged on a procedural flaw, finding the FTC hadn't conducted a proper economic analysis of the rule's impact. The original legal challenge was brought by a coalition of business and advertising groups, including the Chamber of Commerce and the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

• An uphill battle: Getting the rule back on the books won't be straightforward. The original regulation passed on a narrow 3-2 vote, and as reported by MediaPost, current FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson was one of the dissenters.

Even without the rule, the FTC has other tools, sometimes using laws like the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) to pursue companies for deceptive subscription practices, as seen in a recent multi-billion dollar settlement with Amazon over its Prime cancellation process. The agency has now opened the new petition for public comment through January 2.