The FTC proposes a formal “click to cancel” provision for subscriptions | Nieman Journalism Lab

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2023-03-24 13:00:03

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sought to end “click to subscribe, call to cancel” subscription policies for years, labeling the practice — common in the news industry — “dark” and “deceptive” and vowing to ramp up enforcement.

RELATED ARTICLEThe end of “click to subscribe, call to cancel”? One of the news industry’s favorite retention tactics is illegal, FTC saysSarah ScireNovember 15, 2021But the federal organization admitted this week that its current enforcement and rules “have only gotten part way” to fixing the problem. On Thursday, the FTC announced a formal “click to cancel” provision it says will bring the rules the rest of the way. The commission voted 3-1 to bring this proposal to the public and the next step is allowing consumers to submit comments on the proposed rule electronically.

In case you haven’t had the pleasure of encountering this particular retention tactic in the wild, the rule change would formally ban companies from offering a free or reduced trial without making it clear that customers will be automatically be billed for the full price soon after. It would also ban companies from making it much, much harder to cancel a payment than to sign up for one.