Today, the FTC announced it had finalized its “Click-to-Cancel Rule.” Amending its 1973 “Negative Option Rule,” the rule will prohibit sellers from:
- misrepresenting any material fact made while marketing goods or services with a negative option feature;
- failing to clearly and conspicuously disclose material terms prior to obtaining a consumer’s billing information in connection with a negative option feature;
- failing to obtain a consumer’s express informed consent to the negative option feature before charging the consumer; and
- failing to provide a simple mechanism to cancel the negative option feature and immediately halt charges.
The agency’s Press Release, with links to separate statements from Commissioners, including a vigorous dissent which calls into question the Commission’s motives, is available here.
