On March 11, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it is seeking public comments on an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding the Negative Option Rule (the Rule). The FTC previously adopted amendments to the Rule in 2024, which were scheduled to go into effect in July 2025. However, on July 8, 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the Rule, finding that the FTC had failed to perform the required preliminary regulatory analysis under Section 22 of the FTC Act (Custom Communications Inc. v. FTC, No. 24-3137, 8th Cir. July 8, 2025).
Businesses with subscription, automatic renewal, or other negative option plans should pay close attention to the FTC’s proposal, the outcome of which could require businesses to redesign user flows to ensure compliance with new requirements.