US 'click to cancel' rule blocked by appeals court

px_eliezer_

A U.S. appeals court blocked a rule that would have required businesses to make it as easy to cancel subscriptions and memberships as it is to sign up, saying the agency that created it did not follow protocol.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which passed the rule under former Democratic Chair Lina Khan, failed to conduct a preliminary analysis of the costs and benefits of the rule, said the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. The rule was set to take effect on July 14.

MORE HERE:
https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/us-click-cancel-rule-blocked-by-appeals-court-2025-07-08/

This sucks.

A lot of these companies (gyms for example) make it easy to sign up, but quite difficult to cancel.

Last thing I remember, I was running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before

“Relax, ” said the night man,
“We are programmed to receive”
“You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave”

Hotel California
Song by Eagles

g121

px_eliezer_

re: “failed to conduct a preliminary analysis of the costs and benefits of the rule”
my oh my .. tis so difficult to see the benefit of rule ..

as for costs .. too friggin’ bad. zero valid reason to not make cancelling no more difficult than subscribing.

who ‘bought/paid’ the appeals court to adhere to the consumer “bend over & take it” edict?

from above link ..
July 8 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court blocked a rule that would have required businesses to make it as easy to cancel subscriptions and memberships as it is to sign up, saying the agency that created it did not follow protocol.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which passed the rule under former Democratic Chair Lina Khan, failed to conduct a preliminary analysis of the costs and benefits of the rule, said the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. The rule was set to take effect on July 14.

px_eliezer_

g121

Doubtful that the current FTC will appeal this decision.

takeahike

px_eliezer_

Well, in the very recent decision of Trump vs. CASA, Inc., 606 U.S. ___ (2025), the Supreme Court ruled that injunctions by federal courts no longer apply nationwide but apply only to the parties to the litigation, so shouldn’t this ruling therefore apply only in the 8th Circuit where it was decided? We’ll see, but I have my doubts since the rule that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander now seems to apply only if the individual goose or gander in a particular case is to the Court’s liking.

dave

The tech bros are surely delighted.

urbanriot

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which passed the rule under former Democratic Chair Lina Khan, failed to conduct a preliminary analysis of the costs and benefits of the rule, said the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. The rule was set to take effect on July 14.

As much as I appreciate the law, this seems like a fair response. Rules are rules.

I’d have to see the original rule as it was printed to determine if it could be abused or not.

It is already against the law for companies to make it unreasonably difficult to cancel a service and the FTC has previously gone after companies that have made it difficult, impossible, or charged unreasonable fees for cancellation. Vonage is an example of a company that was forced to pay out $100 million in fines, some of which went to users who were harmed by their policies.

takeahike

px_eliezer_

There’s this case in New York: Attorney General James Stops SiriusXM from Trapping New York Customers in Unwanted Subscriptions. Court Rules SiriusXM Broke the Law with Complicated Cancellation Process.

When I recently renewed my subscription for a very reasonable $7.99 per month I asked the rep whether he knew about the suit. He said he didn’t but I just told him that it wasn’t an issue for me because I wasn’t cancelling. 😂

px_eliezer_

urbanriot It is already against the law for companies to make it unreasonably difficult to cancel a service and the FTC has previously gone after companies that have made it difficult, impossible, or charged unreasonable fees for cancellation.

The cable company Optimum (owned by Altice USA) makes it VERY hard to cancel—there are LARGE NUMBERS of pretty much identical reports on MANY social media sites….

You cannot cancel online or even by going to a company store, rather you have to endure a super-long phone call (upwards of an hour in many cases) in which they make you talk to TWO or THREE separate people (it’s like a round robin or a gauntlet), each of whom aggressively tries to convince you to stay.

ugly95

Has anyone done a Amazon Prime trial, and tried to cancel?

They ask you, like three different times, each time putting the button in a different spot.

I’m exaggerating, but not that much, where it’s like “Are you sure you want to miss out on Prime Deals?” “You’ll be missing out on Prime deals, are you really sure you want to do this?” “Are you unwilling to not have unaccess to savings?”

And the buttons you have to choose from are:
“I want to keep saving”, “I don’t want to not save”, “I want to spend more”.

px_eliezer_

ugly95 And the buttons you have to choose from are:
“I want to keep saving”, “I don’t want to not save”, “I want to spend more”.

Evil people.

I wonder if their moms are proud of them….

Andyross

A court decision temporarily halted the rollout of the FTC’s click-to-cancel rule last month, but the drive for greater transparency and simplicity for consumers navigating the subscription economy remains strong. State-level regulations on automatic renewals are still in effect in areas such as California and New York, and now federal lawmakers are once again turning their attention to this issue.

https://www.techspot.com/news/108898-proposed-click-cancel-act-tackles-subscription-traps-clearer.html

Andyross

And another take on this:
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/07/click-to-cancel-rule-cable-companies-fought-to-nullify-could-be-revived/

Somewhat-Reticent

Andyross Let negotiations for contributions commence! Again.

InternetJeff

px_eliezer_ You cannot cancel online or even by going to a company store, rather you have to endure a super-long phone call (upwards of an hour in many cases) in which they make you talk to TWO or THREE separate people (it’s like a round robin or a gauntlet), each of whom aggressively tries to convince you to stay.

I use virtual/disposable credit card numbers for a lot of stuff. Any issues that crop up and I just cancel the card number.

px_eliezer_

InternetJeff I use virtual/disposable credit card numbers for a lot of stuff. Any issues that crop up and I just cancel the card number.

Jeff, with a normal company, that usually works well.

Trying to quit Optimum/Altice is more like trying to resign from the mob. 😃

Or remember that Patrick McGoohan TV show, “The Prisoner”, and what happened to HIM.

Part of the issue is being able to return Optimum’s equipment, which the company will not take back until a cancellation is processed.

dave

px_eliezer_ I wonder if their moms are proud of them….

I can’t imagine thinking so little of the craft I practice that I’d be willing to implement such bullshit.

(Yeah, yeah, easy for me to say, I’ve got a job where I’m not just a ticket-filling code monkey that has no input to anything)

InternetJeff

px_eliezer_ Part of the issue is being able to return Optimum’s equipment, which the company will not take back until a cancellation is processed.

There’s always a way, albeit if inconvenient. Many years ago when I switched from cable to fiber for my internet I mailed the old ISP’s modem back to them certified, insured, with a return receipt. There was subsequently some confusion on thier end whether or not they received it. I provided them with a copy of the the return receipt and who signed for it, asking them if they would like to go to court over some obsolete cable junk. I knew, after a beer with a lawyer buddy of mine, that I would prevail in small claims. Apparently, so did they, as they unceremoniously surrendered on the issue. 😁