Feds revive “click to cancel” in crackdown on subscriptions

Federal agencies are coordinating efforts to make it easier to unsubscribe from apps, membership or services, in an initiative rolled out over the weekend. The rulemaking project, called “Time is Money,” could also pressure healthcare companies to streamline their processes for setting appointments or force airlines to issue refunds for flight changes.

What’s this about canceling subscriptions? The Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule in 2023 that, if finalized, would require companies to make it as easy for consumers to unsubscribe from a service as it was for them to subscribe for it. The Federal Communications Commission is also looking into a similar policy for companies in the communications industry, the White House said.

What else does this effort contain? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to craft a proposal requiring companies to have human customer service representatives available for customers by at the press of a button during a phone call. The FCC will look into a similar rules for communication companies, while the Department of Health and Human Services and the Labor Department will look into such rules for healthcare companies, the White House said. Finally, the FTC may regulate how product reviews are handled.

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Muncy’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about government efforts to limit prescription drug prices.