Cable companies, advertising firms, and newspapers are asking courts to block a federal “click-to-cancel” rule that would force businesses to make it easier for consumers to cancel services. Lawsuits were filed yesterday, about a week after the Federal Trade Commission approved a rule that “requires sellers to provide consumers with simple cancellation mechanisms to immediately halt all recurring charges.”
The 5th Circuit is generally regarded as the nation’s most conservative, but the 6th Circuit also has a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents. When identical lawsuits are filed in multiple circuits, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation randomly selects a court to handle the case.
The NCTA cable lobby group, which represents companies like Comcast and Charter, have complained about the rule’s impact on their ability to talk customers out of canceling. NCTA CEO Michael Powell claimed during a January 2024 hearing that “a consumer may easily misunderstand the consequences of canceling and it may be imperative that they learn about better options” and that the rule’s disclosure and consent requirements raise “First Amendment issues.”
“Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said. “The FTC’s rule will end these tricks and traps, saving Americans time and money. Nobody should be stuck paying for a service they no longer want.”
Fuck the circuits. It’s absolute bullshit that entities can game the system and shop for “favorable” judges because of the appellate courts.
Yeah even if you literally cannot get their service and they have to cancel you (which happened when I moved) they still talk and talk and talk way more than is necessary for a cancellation. They even look up your location data so they can confirm what you already told them their own app said, screw these fuckers.
I swear if you’re the kind of sociopath that’s pro-Trump, them saving this rule alone should be enough to get you to vote Harris.
It’s your internet. Who cancels that without already moving to another ISP? I work from home so not having internet even for short durations is a non-starter. Forcing me to talk to someone is an absolute waste of everyone’s time. They have a zero percent chance of keeping me because I already left. I just want the bills to stop for a service I disconnected from.
I understand the whole ‘game’ for pricing/discounts but when you legitimately are leaving then this is just dumb. I think the whole game around discounts is dumb too but that’s capitalism.
Who cancels that without already moving to another ISP?
In fairness, there are people who renounce their citizenship without first ensuring that they have another citizenship elsewhere. Then they get stuck in limbo because they’re now stateless, and no-one knows where they’re supposed to go.
I guess they prefer getting customer chargebacks which will cost them bank fees than just letting people cancel.
Lol!!! This is fantastic! They shouldn’t be trying to talk them out of cancelling to begin with!
I will say this much… I am knowledgeable that a lot of people cancel because they can’t figure out how to use the service, or don’t know enough about the service to know they’ll need 4+ apps or addons to get what they have currently. Informing them after they tell you what they want sometimes makes them realize switching isn’t better. Shouldn’t be a long call though, about 15 min.
