FTC
FTC sets new rule to make it easier to cancel subscriptions
Within 180 days, a new rule will take effect in the United States that will make unsubscribing as easy as clicking a button.
Canceling any service can be a problem. If in the past it was necessary to make some kind of call where the person you talked to did everything possible to keep you from canceling a service, now the situation of canceling a service will be much simpler thanks to a new rule.
A new rule from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will prevent companies from forcing people to sign up for services they don’t want, and will make it easier to cancel subscriptions. How does this happen? In the past, if a user did not say “no” to a service, companies assumed that the user wanted to continue receiving the service and continue being charged.
“The rule also will prohibit sellers from misrepresenting any material facts while using negative option marketing; require sellers to provide important information before obtaining consumers’ billing information and charging them; and require sellers to get consumers’ informed consent to the negative option features before charging them,” reads the FTC statement.
Now, with this “click-to-cancel” rule, cancelling a service like Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+ will be less of a hassle, because in theory, this rule aims to make canceling a service as easy as signing up. On the other hand, this rule also forces companies to be clear about what you are signing up for and to ask for your consent before asking for payment information.
“Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,” said Commission Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC’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.”
For now, we can only wait a few months for this new rule to take effect. According to the FTC website, “Most of the final rule’s provisions will go into effect 180 days after it is published in the Federal Register”.
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