News/Media Alliance Statement on Court Ruling Blocking “Click-to-Cancel”

Arlington, VA - On July 8, a federal appeals court blocked the Federal Trade Commission's pending final implementation of the "Click-to-Cancel" rule, which would have overhauled federal regulations around subscription and membership renewals. This rule, which was set to go into effect on Monday, July 14th, was intended to make it easier for consumers to cancel auto-renewing subscriptions, but ended up overbroad and beyond the FTC's statutory authority, and needlessly burdened businesses and confused consumers.

In response to this ruling, Danielle Coffey, President and CEO of the News/Media Alliance, said:

"While the FTC did take many of our recommendations into consideration in its process of drafting the final click-to-cancel rule, concerns remained. The court's decision to strike the more onerous provisions will allow publishers to implement automatic renewals in a way that both fully protects consumers, including their ability to easily cancel subscriptions, while providing subscribers access to their favorite newspapers and magazines with convenient, easy-to-use options to continue the services they value."