The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has delayed a rule that would require companies to make it as easy to cancel subscriptions to services as it is to sign up. Some provisions were originally set to go into effect on May 14, but businesses have been given a reprieve until mid-July.
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The new “Click to Cancel” rule is aimed at combating the practice of users easily signing up for subscriptions to various services — such as streaming platforms, fitness clubs, and others — but facing multiple obstacles when trying to cancel them. The FTC’s new requirements require the process of canceling a service to be as easy as signing up for one, TechCrunch reports.
The document stipulates that companies must provide all necessary information about the terms of cancellation of a subscription before the user enters payment details. This applies not only to digital services, but also to offline services. For example, if a user subscribes in a few clicks on a website, he must be able to cancel it in the same way.
Although the rule went into effect on January 19, its implementation was delayed until May 14. Now, the FTC has delayed the start of active enforcement by another 60 days, to July 14. In a statement, the agency said that “after reviewing the situation, the commission concluded that the original deadline did not take into account the complexity of preparing for compliance.” The decision to delay was made unanimously, with three votes in favor.
Despite the delay, the FTC emphasized that it intends to begin enforcing the rule on July 14, by which date regulated entities will be required to comply. At the same time, the FTC does not rule out the possibility of revising the document if the results of the initial reviews show that the current rule is complex or requires clarification.