Appeals Court Blocks FTC’s ‘Click to Cancel’ Rule Meant to Simplify Subscription Cancellations

A federal appeals court has thrown out the “click to cancel” rule of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), concluding that the agency violated procedural requirements when crafting regulations aimed at making it easier for consumers to cancel subscription services.

In a ruling issued on July 8, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the FTC’s Negative Option Rule, which was designed to combat “negative option” marketing, the practice of treating a consumer’s silence or failure to cancel as an agreement to continue—and be charged for—products or services.