The FTC issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on March 11, 2026, seeking public comment on whether and how to modernize its Negative Option Rule to address deceptive subscription and auto-renewal practices.[2][4] Comments are due by April 13, 2026.[2] The ANPRM reopens the question of whether the rule should expand beyond its current narrow scope to cover modern negative option programs like automatic renewals, free-to-pay conversions, and continuity plans.[3][5]
Who's Involved
The Federal Trade Commission is leading this rulemaking effort under the Trump-Vance administration.[5] The action comes after the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the FTC's 2024 "Click-to-Cancel" Rule in 2025 on procedural grounds, striking down the prior administration's attempt to significantly expand the rule's reach.[3][4] The FTC has noted receiving more than 100,000 complaints about negative option practices over the past five years and has brought at least five enforcement cases since early 2025.[1][2]
Context and Timeline
The original Negative Option Rule dates to 1973 and applies only to prenotification plans like product-of-the-month clubs.[3][5] In October 2024, the FTC adopted the "Click-to-Cancel" Rule to expand this to all negative option programs across all media, requiring companies to make cancellation as easy as enrollment and available through the same channel.[2] The Eighth Circuit invalidated those 2024 amendments, reinstating the original 1973 rule.[3] This left the regulatory landscape fragmented across multiple federal laws (ROSCA, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, FTC Act Section 5) and varying state laws depending on the sales channel and jurisdiction.[5][6]
Why It's Newsworthy
The FTC's rulemaking restart signals renewed regulatory focus on subscription-based business models despite the court's rejection of the previous rule.[5] The ANPRM introduces new considerations absent from prior efforts, including whether certain industries like business-to-business transactions should be exempted, how to handle "save" retention offers after cancellation requests, and what procedures should govern exemption requests from industry.[3] Businesses and consumer advocates are watching whether the FTC can craft a rule that survives judicial scrutiny while addressing long-standing consumer protection concerns.