FTC delays the application of clicking rule to the chancellor

The Federal Commerce Commission voted on Friday To delay the execution of the negative option rule, widely known as the “click of the cancellation” rule that it requires that companies make it as easy to cancel a subscription as registered.

The rule, which was Proposed for the first time in 2023He pointed to companies that sell physical and digital subscriptions, from transmission services to gym memberships, through simple registration flows, only for customers to discover later that they have to go through a much more complex process or that consume a lot of time to cancel.

According to the negative option rule, companies could not force customers to cancel subscriptions through a different method from which they used to register, so if they were recorded with some clicks on a company’s website, it should also be able to cancel on its website. Companies must also provide relevant information about cancellation before collecting customer payment information.

According to FTC, The rule entered into force On January 19, but the application of some provisions was delayed until May 14. Now the FTC is delaying the application of the law another 60 days, until July 14.

“Having carried out a new evaluation of the charges that would force compliance with this date, the commission has determined that the original postponement period insufficiently explained the complexity of compliance,” said the FTC in a statement.

The commission voted 3-0 to delay the application. The FTC traditionally has five commissioners, three of the president’s party and two of the opposite party, but President Donald Trump He fired the two Democratic commissioners In March. Those commissioners then He sued TrumpArguing his dismissal, violate a precedent of the Supreme Court that the president cannot say goodbye to the FTC commissioners without cause.

Despite the delay, the FTC said it will begin application on July 14, when “regulated entities must comply.”

“Of course, if that application experience exposes problems with the rule, the commission is open to amend the rule to address these problems,” the FTC added.