The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken an aggressive
approach to crack down on what it views as illegal auto-renewal
subscription practices. Last year, the FTC finalized its
"click-to-cancel" rule, requiring companies to provide a
"simple" mechanism to cancel negative option contracts.
The rule has already come under attack in federal court, but so far
it remains in effect. The FTC has brought many alleged deceptive
negative option marketing cases on a bipartisan basis for years,
including under the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act.
However, given that both Chair Ferguson and Commissioner Holyoak
voted against the "click-to-cancel" rule (with
Commissioner Holyoak issuing a strong dissenting statement), the
prospect of new leadership at the FTC has prompted speculation that
the agency might pull back from enforcing the broader aspects of
the rule. Regardless of what course the FTC takes, businesses
should remain vigilant because state and local agencies
