On the same day that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a
complaint against Match Group, Inc., the owner of Match.com and
other online dating websites, including OKCupid and Tinder, the FTC
announced a request for public comment on its existing regulations
governing negative option marketing. These comments may pave the
way for the FTC to use its authority under the FTC Act to
significantly expand the scope and coverage of the existing
Negative Option Rule.
The Current Framework
Negative option is an increasingly common form of marketing
whereby the absence of affirmative consumer action constitutes
consent to be charged for goods or services. In recent years, the
FTC has increasingly sought to regulate the various forms of
negative option marketing through individual law enforcement cases
as well as through various regulations, including the FTC's
current Negative Option Rule and the Telemarketing Sales Rule
(TSR). The FTC also relies on the federal Restore
