How will the new rule work?

Discussions about the need to introduce new standards have been ongoing for a long time. The “click to cancel” rule is primarily intended to simplify the opt-out process for U.S. consumers, as seen in the FTC’s announcement. However, it is often neither profitable nor appropriate for companies to develop separately. Since the products are specific to each country, developers of at least the most popular services should be expected to make this update for the whole world.

The best example of this is Apple, which for years resisted the introduction of USB-C, forcing users to buy Lightning cables. However, EU law, which standardizes this issue, directed the manufacturer to implement Type-C not only for EU citizens but for the whole world, as it would be extremely inconvenient to make separate devices for different countries.

Now the US Federal Trade Commission has announced final approval of the “click to cancel” rule. There will be a need for companies Make the unsubscribe process as simple and straightforward as the sign-up process. Companies will be prohibited from forcing customers to use chatbots or speak to customer service on the phone to cancel a subscription.

In a statement accompanying the commission’s press release, FTC Chair Lina M. Hahn said: “Companies often force people to jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription. The FTC’s rule will put an end to these tricks and traps and save Americans time. and money. No one should be forced to pay for a service they no longer need.”

According to the FTC, this move was made after: Significant increase in consumer complaints regarding subscription applications. In 2024, the government agency received an average of almost 70 complaints per day about the inability to cancel the subscription to this or that service. For comparison, in 2021 their number was 42 per day.

As a result, it is interesting that the rules package was not voted on as presented. For example, it removed the requirement for businesses to send annual periodic payment reminders, as well as some other items.