Click to Cancel Subscription? Appeals Court Blocks FTC Rule

The rule, introduced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in October 2024, was meant to require businesses to make cancellations as easy as signing up. Dubbed the “click-to-cancel” rule, it would’ve applied to everything from online subscriptions to in-person memberships. Companies would’ve had to get clear consent before enrolling users in auto-renewals and provide an equally clear way to opt out. That means no chatbots, phone tag, or endless loops through account menus.

Enforcement was originally scheduled to take effect in May 2025, but it was postponed to July. Just days before it could go into effect, the rule was struck down by a federal appeals court. The reason? The FTC didn’t perform a full economic impact analysis, a procedural step required when a regulation could affect more than $100 million of the U.S. economy annually.

On paper, that may sound like a technical hiccup. In practice, Americans will keep facing a cancellation gauntlet designed to wear them down.

Consumers have long voiced frustration with how time-consuming and convoluted the process can be. One Reddit user summed it up in a post that quickly gained traction: “I had to navigate eight different account menus, argue with a bot, talk to a human who offered me three different ‘special deals,’ and say ‘NO I WANT TO CANCEL’ five times before I was allowed to leave.”

Stories like these aren’t rare. In some cases, canceling a gym membership still requires mailing a handwritten letter in 2025. Companies often claim they never received it if the letter doesn’t arrive or isn’t formatted just right. And if the company keeps charging you, banks usually won’t intervene without proof that the subscription was canceled, proof that the company, conveniently, never provides.

According to the FTC, nearly 70 people filed complaints about these practices daily in 2024. This friction is not just a nuisance, as it adds up financially. For low-use or forgotten subscriptions, it becomes profitable for companies and draining for consumers.

The now-blocked rule was part of the previous administration’s broader “Time is Money” initiative, aimed at eliminating what it described as “junk fees” and consumer runarounds. Business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, pushed back, arguing that the FTC had overstepped their authority and that compliance costs would hurt companies. The court ultimately agreed on procedural grounds, vacating the rule.

Some advocates say the delay, then the legal block, was no accident. They claim big businesses lobbied for enough postponements to give courts time to dismantle the rule before it could gain traction. While the FTC may attempt a revision, the burden remains on the customer to fight their way out of recurring charges.

However, there may be a silver lining. Anticipating the rule, some companies have already updated their cancellation processes voluntarily. Consumer advocates hope those changes stick, even without a federal mandate.

Until then, canceling a subscription in America remains a test of patience and persistence. For now, though, clicking “unsubscribe” still isn’t enough.