The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized a new rule requiring companies (including streaming services such as Netflix) to provide one-click subscription cancellation for products or services
The ruling states that unsubscribing must be «at least as easy to use» as the sign-up process.
FTC Chairman Lina Khan says (via Reuters) that the new rule — is a somewhat late response to the growing number of complaints from users about how «absurdly difficult it is» sometimes to unsubscribe from services.
«Companies shouldn’t be able to trick you into paying for subscriptions you don’t need», says Khan.
The rule prohibits companies whose customers have signed up through an app or website from offering to cancel their subscription via a chatbot or other agent. Whereas customers who signed up «in person» must call or write to the company with an offer to unsubscribe.
The rule also stipulates that streaming services, shopping malls, gyms, etc. must obtain the customer’s prior consent before extending the subscription or converting a free trial to a paid version.
Last year, the FTC sued Amazon, accusing it of deceiving customers and automatically renewing subscriptions. The lawsuit also stated that the design of the company’s website «pushed» customers to sign up for Prime.
A similar complaint was made by is also aimed at Adobe — due to «hidden» termination fees and a confusing cancellation process. The FTC noted that the company failed to clearly disclose its terms to customers, including the annual subscription duration and early cancellation fees.