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New York City has become the latest jurisdiction to crack down on subscriptions that are difficult to cancel.
The city’s new “click-to-cancel” rules, which went into effect Thursday, require businesses to make it easy for customers to end automatically-renewing subscriptions. New York state already requires cancellation to be as simple as signing up, but it gives cities the power to enforce similar protections locally and provides a website portal for consumers to complain about violations.
“If businesses can get their money back with one click, you should be able to get your money back with one click,” Mayor Zoran Mamdani said in a news release Thursday.
New York City is the first municipality to adopt a click-to-cancel rule, city officials said. This law joins a growing number of states that have enacted or strengthened laws governing automatic renewal and cancellation of subscriptions, as a potential national standard is not yet determined.
“Automatic renewal is a pain point for consumers, and it’s a popular topic for regulators, especially now with the focus on affordability, so I expect we’ll continue to see more of these laws at the state level,” said Gonzalo Mon, a partner at Kelly, Dry & Warren in Washington.
Complaints about “negative option” subscriptions increase
Experts say the number of complaints about “negative option” subscription contracts, which automatically renew unless consumers cancel them, has grown as usage has increased. Signing up for these subscriptions is easy, but canceling them can be difficult.
According to a study by CNET, a media website focused on consumer technology, U.S. adults spend an average of $1,080 on subscriptions each year. By generation, Millennials spend the most annually, averaging $1,215. The survey was conducted online by YouGov in April 2025 and involved 2,440 adult participants.
Research shows that consumers spend an average of $205 annually on subscriptions they no longer use.
The FTC received an average of nearly 70 consumer complaints per day about difficult-to-cancel subscriptions in 2024, up from 42 complaints per day in 2021, the bureau said.
Artificial intelligence could also offer consumers new ways to deal with unnecessary subscriptions. for example, meta‘s new AI agent, Muse, says it can cancel subscriptions on your behalf.
Meanwhile, more than half of states have rules governing automatic renewal, Mon said.
“Although there are some differences, the laws generally cover similar topics,” he said.
Mon said the law typically requires up-front disclosure of important terms, consumer consent and confirmation, and easy cancellation methods. Some require update notifications.
what’s happening at the federal level
The Federal Trade Commission finalized national click-to-cancel rules in October 2024 under the Biden administration. This was quickly challenged in court by various business and industry groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business.
About a week before the rule went into effect in mid-July 2025, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the rule on procedural grounds.
However, the FTC may make other attempts to enforce federal rules. In a March 13 notice, the agency asked for public input on whether to update the decades-old negative option rule, including whether to adopt provisions of the now-defunct click-to-cancel rule. The deadline for comments was April 13th.
Given the notice, “there’s a good chance the FTC will move forward, but we don’t know when or how,” Mong said.
It is likely that the FTC will move forward, but it is unclear when and how.
Gonzalo Mont
In partnership with Kelly Dry & Warren
Meanwhile, the FTC has continued to use existing federal consumer protection laws to pursue companies over their subscription practices.
For example, in May, the agency announced a $35 million settlement with Shutterstock over allegations of unfair and deceptive practices, including making it difficult to cancel subscriptions.
Additionally, several bills are pending in Congress that would seek to authorize click-to-cancel rules, including the Bipartisan and Bicameral Unsubscribe Act. The measure would require companies offering subscriptions to offer easy cancellation and get consumer approval before charging after a free or low-price period.
