Podcast - The FTC's Click to Cancel Proposal
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finally released its long-awaited Negative Option Rule (the Final Rule), aka the “Click-to-Cancel Rule,” on October 16. The Final Rule was approved by a partisan vote of 3-2, with the two...more
Last year, we wrote about the FTC’s proposal to massively expand the Negative Option Rule to cover any goods or services involving a negative option or automatic renewal plan, including free trials, subscriptions, and repeat...more
Companies that automatically renew customers’ subscriptions or memberships, take note. On October 16, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced sweeping amendments to the Negative Option Rule, which would apply to a...more
The federal government just fundamentally changed how businesses need to handle recurring subscriptions by unveiling its new “Click-to-Cancel” rule and making it mandatory to simplify cancellation processes. Designed to...more
This week, California amended its automatic renewal and continuous service offer law (ARL). Key provisions include the addition of “free-to-pay conversions,” consent obligations, misrepresentation prohibitions, request for...more
Companies that care about avoiding Federal Trade Commission (FTC) action should take heed. Last month, the FTC announced an $8.5 million settlement with Care.com, resolving claims challenging its advertising claims and...more
A federal judge in Seattle has ruled against Amazon in its bid to have a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit dismissed that alleges the online retailer used deceptive “dark patterns” practices to enroll customers in Prime...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has made clear its focus on automatic renewal programs with high-profile lawsuits in recent weeks, alleging violations of the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA). Below are some...more
The California legislature recently renewed its efforts to regulate automatic renewal programs with proposed amendments to its Automatic Renewal Law (ARL). This development does not follow any lack of attention to this area...more
Last week, California's legislature proposed amendments to its Automatic Renewal Law (ARL) to tighten the already-strict requirements for autorenewal, negative option, and continuous service offers. The law would impose new...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state attorneys general, and class action plaintiffs continue to scrutinize negative option and continuity offers. Negative option marketing can include pre-notification negative option...more
On December 20, 2023, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a Petition in state court alleging Sirius XM Radio’s autorenewal practices violated New York’s autorenewal law. In the lawsuit, New York alleges that Sirius...more
Kardashian Kopycat? Energy Drink Company Claims Competitor Stole Kim's Copyrighted Look - The Instagram posts look nearly identical, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-the-difference kind of way—or so says the complaint filed by...more
The recent suit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) represents the latest guidance in the rapidly evolving patchwork of federal and state laws that govern online subscription models. Any company offering subscription...more
In 2017, the FTC announced that Adore Me, an online lingerie company, had agreed to return more than $1.3 million to customers who enrolled in a negative-option membership program offering discounts and other benefits. Almost...more
In this episode of his "Clearly Conspicuous" podcast series, "The FTC's Click to Cancel Proposal," consumer protection attorney Anthony DiResta discusses the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) latest proposed rule that aims to...more
On March 23, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced that it would propose a "click to cancel" provision in its rules governing subscriptions and recurring memberships. According to the FTC, the proposed rule...more
If you are a subscription marketer, you have likely heard the buzz about the Federal Trade Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) concerning the Negative Option Rule. If implemented, the proposed rule would impact...more
On March 23, the Federal Trade Commission announced proposed changes to its Negative Option Rule. This latest announcement appears to be another move by the Commission in its recent flurry of activities to ramp up its...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced a notice of proposed rulemaking to expand its “Negative Option Rule” to apply to all recurring subscription programs (Proposed Amendment). The Proposed Amendment would...more
Many of us (including myself) have so many subscriptions and memberships that it can be hard to keep up. Have you ever tried to cancel a membership and felt like you had to spin around, clap three times and hop on one foot...more
How hard is it to just cancel? If you have found yourself pondering this question in a heat of frustration after seeing unexpected charges on your card following your latest subscription service or free trial period, you’re...more
Payment service providers should take note of an expansive new rule proposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) intended to protect consumer shoppers of goods and services sold on a subscription basis. For merchants...more
Mornings for advertising lawyers usually start slow – coffee in one hand and phone in the other while we glance at emails. Imagine our surprise the other morning when we saw that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had issued...more
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission announced that its proposed rule replacing its Prenotification Negative Option Rule would result in new, expansive requirements for all forms of negative option offers, including...more