Subscriptions and online terms
The fine print behind “I agree.”
Auto-renewals, the federal online subscription law, where click-to-cancel stands, honest reviews, arbitration, and warranty disclaimers.
Status, September 2026
Click-to-cancel: where it stands
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Click-to-cancel rule announced (Oct 2024)
On October 16, 2024, the FTC announced a final "click-to-cancel" rule meant to make it easier to end recurring subscriptions and memberships.
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Appeals court struck it down (July 2025)
On July 8, 2025, shortly before businesses had to fully comply, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the click-to-cancel rule. The court held the FTC skipped a required preliminary regulatory analysis, a procedural step.
Source: FTC advance notice of proposed rulemaking, Negative Option Rule (Federal Register, March 2026)
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FTC restored the older rule (Feb 2026)
Effective February 12, 2026, the FTC put its Negative Option Rule back the way it was before the 2024 changes. That older rule was first issued in 1973.
Source: FTC final rule conforming rules to court decisions (Federal Register, February 2026)
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Rulemaking restarted, no new rule yet
In March 2026 the FTC started over, asking the public whether its Negative Option Rule needs amendments. As of September 2026, the FTC's rule page lists that March 13, 2026 notice as its most recent action, with no new final rule.
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What the FTC is weighing now
The FTC's March 2026 request asks whether to keep the current rule, bring back parts of the vacated 2024 rule, write something else, or use alternatives like education. The FTC says it got more than 100,000 complaints about negative options in the past five years.
Source: FTC press release, March 2026
What still protects you
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ROSCA: the federal online subscription law
The Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act, passed in 2010, bars online sellers from charging you through an auto-renewal or similar feature unless they clearly disclose the key terms before taking your billing info, get your express informed consent, and give you a simple way to stop recurring charges. The FTC lists it as an existing legal requirement in its 2026 notice.
Source: FTC advance notice of proposed rulemaking, Negative Option Rule (Federal Register, March 2026)
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ROSCA only covers online sales
ROSCA is the main federal law aimed at automatic billing, but it only covers sales made online.
Source: FTC advance notice of proposed rulemaking, Negative Option Rule (Federal Register, March 2026)
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They must tell you how to cancel first
The FTC says businesses have to tell you how to cancel before they take your card information, and they must make canceling simple. If you're charged without your consent and the company won't refund you, you can dispute the charge with your card company.
Reviews and arbitration
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Contracts can't ban honest reviews
Under the Consumer Review Fairness Act, a company can't use standard contract terms that stop you from reviewing it, charge you a penalty for a review, or take the intellectual property rights in your review. This includes online terms and conditions.
Source: FTC: Consumer Review Fairness Act, What Businesses Need to Know
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Where the review law stops
The Consumer Review Fairness Act doesn't cover employment contracts or agreements with independent contractors. Businesses can still remove reviews that are clearly false or misleading, abusive, unrelated to their products, or that reveal private information.
Source: FTC: Consumer Review Fairness Act, What Businesses Need to Know
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CFPB arbitration rule has no effect
In 2017 the CFPB issued a rule to stop certain financial companies from using arbitration clauses to block class actions. Congress disapproved it, the President signed that resolution on November 1, 2017, and the rule has no force or effect.
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Most people don't know they agreed to arbitrate
A 2015 CFPB study of consumer finance markets found more than 75 percent of consumers surveyed didn't know whether their agreements had an arbitration clause, and fewer than 7 percent of those covered realized it limited their ability to sue. The CFPB now marks this page as archived.
Warranties and damage limits
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Warranty disclaimers have to be noticeable
Under UCC section 2-316, a written disclaimer of the implied warranty of merchantability has to mention merchantability and be conspicuous. Unless the circumstances say otherwise, wording like "as is" or "with all faults" excludes implied warranties.
Source: Cornell LII: UCC § 2-316
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Injury limits on consumer goods get extra scrutiny
Under Uniform Commercial Code section 2-719, which covers sales of goods, a contract can limit consequential damages unless that's unconscionable. Limiting damages for personal injury from consumer goods is treated as unconscionable on its face.
Source: Cornell LII: UCC § 2-719