FTC delays click-to-cancel rule enforcement, giving companies more time to simplify cancellations

What just happened? The FTC's enforcement of the amended Negative Option Rule, often known as the click-to-cancel rule, has been delayed by two months after the agency voted to defer the compliance deadline. The rule will likely be welcomed by consumers as it forces companies that offer subscriptions to make canceling them a simple process, instead of the often complex – sometimes intentionally – procedure that many firms have in place.

It was back in March 2023 when the FTC proposed a click to cancel provision that would require companies to make the process of canceling recurring subscriptions as simple as signing up for them.

The Rule Concerning Subscriptions and Other Negative Option Plans was ratified by the FTC in a 3-2 vote in October 2024. It amends the Negative Option Rule first introduced in 1973.

A negative-option offer is any deal where a seller treats your silence – or failure to ...