California AG Joins National Effort to Make Canceling Unwanted Subscriptions Easy
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced support June 26 for proposed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) changes that will make canceling subscriptions, both digital and physical, as easy as signing up for them, according to his office.
The so-called Negative Option Rule is a marketing method for companies to enroll consumers in services with recurring charges, like for subscriptions, and memberships. Consumers’ silence or failure to take action regarding the charges are interpreted by companies as renewals.
“If consumers want to cancel a subscription, they should not have to go on a fishing expedition,” Mr. Bonta said in a press release. “Just as businesses make it easy to sign up for a subscription, they need to respect customers who later want to end that subscription.”…