lots of big movements going on against corpos eh? we got click to cancel on one end, stop killing games on the other end. we are literally fighting enshittification at this point and they are getting away with it just because it is legal. We gotta win this one
As it should have been. Even if you (as I do) agree with the rule itself, it needs to be implemented in the correct way. Otherwise you end up in a world where there is no rule of law; and in turn no rights except for those in power. Sometimes those in power might be on your side, but that doesn't mean they are right. You need to oppose the way this rule was passed in all cases because otherwise you have nothing to work with when some other rule is passed that you don't like.
Just days before the FTC’s “Click-to-Cancel” rule was set to take effect in July 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit struck it down. The court ruled that the FTC violated federal procedural requirements by failing to conduct a preliminary regulatory analysis, which is mandatory for any rule expected to have an economic impact exceeding $100 million annually.
Although the FTC initially claimed the rule would fall below that threshold, an administrative law judge later found that compliance costs would exceed it—unless every business somehow managed to implement the rule using fewer than 23 hours of professional services at the lowest possible rate. The court concluded that the FTC’s failure to issue a separate preliminary analysis for public review deprived stakeholders of a meaningful opportunity to challenge or shape the rule, rendering it procedurally invalid.
So no, the unanimous ruling by the Eighth Circuit didn’t kill the Biden-era regulation because the judges were Republican appointees. It was struck down because bureaucratic procedures weren't followed. Its a shame because I believe canceling subscriptions should be easy. It often is not in the U.S. (I’m looking at you adobe)this really undermines consumer interests :(
> An administrative law judge decided that the economic impact would be more than the $100 million threshold.
I do find it fascinating that one administrator has the ability to claim, seemingly from thin air, that it would be more than 100mil and so cancel the entire rule. Wouldn't it be better if the rule was reviewed AFTER the year to determine if modifications or Analysis should be performed?
Seems that when it comes to consumer protections in the US the companies are ALWAYS given the benefit of the doubt.
I recently tried to downgrade Xfinity service. App did not have the button so I had to call. First, I had to battle my way out of the robotic loop. Then, when I finally got to a human support person, they kept trying to upsell me on additional services. I told them that I wanted to downgrade. Since this would probably would hurt their performance score, they redirected me to another rep after fiddling for 30 minutes.
When I was transferred, I became more angry. I finally got the new rep to downgrade my service when I threatened to cancel. All-in-all the whole thing took about an hour.
</RANT>
We absolutely need 1-click cancellation or plan change buttons on these service providers' websites.
19 comments
[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 37.3 ms ] threadAlthough the FTC initially claimed the rule would fall below that threshold, an administrative law judge later found that compliance costs would exceed it—unless every business somehow managed to implement the rule using fewer than 23 hours of professional services at the lowest possible rate. The court concluded that the FTC’s failure to issue a separate preliminary analysis for public review deprived stakeholders of a meaningful opportunity to challenge or shape the rule, rendering it procedurally invalid.
So no, the unanimous ruling by the Eighth Circuit didn’t kill the Biden-era regulation because the judges were Republican appointees. It was struck down because bureaucratic procedures weren't followed. Its a shame because I believe canceling subscriptions should be easy. It often is not in the U.S. (I’m looking at you adobe)this really undermines consumer interests :(
For now, if the unsubscribe process isn't obvious or takes me more than a couple minutes, I cancel the virtual card I gave that business.
(577 points, 3 days ago, 533 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44504699
(225 points, 2 days ago, 31 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44505675
Oh, it's a nation wide injunction; Not really a rule of law ruling then?
LoL
This way, it's impossible for them to charge you for renewal. You can even forget about cancelling.
I do find it fascinating that one administrator has the ability to claim, seemingly from thin air, that it would be more than 100mil and so cancel the entire rule. Wouldn't it be better if the rule was reviewed AFTER the year to determine if modifications or Analysis should be performed?
Seems that when it comes to consumer protections in the US the companies are ALWAYS given the benefit of the doubt.
Policy is hard. Ideology is easy. Reading these comments, it appears that most of you haven't a clue how the sausage is actually made.
I recently tried to downgrade Xfinity service. App did not have the button so I had to call. First, I had to battle my way out of the robotic loop. Then, when I finally got to a human support person, they kept trying to upsell me on additional services. I told them that I wanted to downgrade. Since this would probably would hurt their performance score, they redirected me to another rep after fiddling for 30 minutes.
When I was transferred, I became more angry. I finally got the new rep to downgrade my service when I threatened to cancel. All-in-all the whole thing took about an hour.
</RANT>
We absolutely need 1-click cancellation or plan change buttons on these service providers' websites.