FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 410-576-7009
**The following corrects a press release our Office issued on Friday, April 11, 2025, which incorrectly
stated the date for compliance was Sunday, April 13, 2025. This release includes the correct date for
compliance, which is May 14, 2025, and provides a link to the published rule in the Federal Register.
BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown issued today a
consumer alert on a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule, which is quickly approaching the
deadline for compliance – May 14, 2025 – and will make it easier for consumers to go online and
cancel recurring subscriptions and memberships. The new “Click-to-Cancel” Rule went into
effect on January 14, 2025, although businesses were given until mid-May to comply with the
new rule that establishes a simple way for consumers to cancel subscriptions and memberships,
rather than forcing consumers to jump through hoops.
The digital world we live in makes it easier than ever for businesses to sign up consumers for
their products and services. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to monitor or cancel these
purchases online, with many of these businesses making it difficult or confusing for their
customers to keep track of their memberships or to cancel them.
In June 2023, Attorney General Brown supported changes to an existing FTC rule so that it
would better protect consumers from deceptive auto-renewal programs and plans. These changes
resulted in the creation of the new Click-to-Cancel rule.
Under the Click-to-Cancel Rule, it must be as easy for you to cancel as it was for you to sign up.
In other words, a business that had you sign up online must provide you with a simple online
means of canceling.
With the addition of the Click-to-Cancel Rule, the FTC’s Negative Option Rule helps ensure that
you are informed about the terms of any offer, protects you from unwanted charges and makes
canceling subscriptions and memberships much simpler, saving your time and your money. A
copy of that published Negative Option Rule is available on the Federal Register.
More information about the Click-to-Cancel Rule is available from the
FTC.
This alert was issued to all consumers who have subscribed to receive consumer information
from our office. Consumers can use this brief form to subscribe.
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