The Looming GOP Battle Over Whether You Have to Go to Hell and Back to Cancel Amazon Prime
From ditching a premium account to canceling your gym membership, critics of the business practices that make it hard to leave call them “subscription traps.” Customers hate them — so much so that they file 70 complaints a day at the Federal Trade Commission.
Under the rule set to go into effect soon, companies have to be upfront about any fees that will pop up after a free trial period. And canceling a subscription or service must take as many steps as it took to sign up; consumers also cannot be forced to call a customer service line or send a letter to cancel a service they started online.
With Khan’s time at the FTC running out, the new leadership that Donald Trump installs at the agency could go either way on questions like the click-to-cancel rule.
That’s because Khan, a liberal appointed by a liberal president, has won some unlikely fans among conservatives: the “Khanservatives” who support cracking down on anti-competitive practices. On the other side of the debate are a more traditional GOP constituency: businesses and investors betting big on the loosening of regulation.
The new FTC brass could try to scale down the rule, kill it, or keep it. Or Congress could legislate the rule away.
The rule, passed last month, isn’t enforceable until 180 days after it’s posted in the Federal Register — which may get killed before it even takes effect.
Leading Candidates
Trump has yet to announce his pick to succeed Khan as chair.
Two candidates in the mix could take an aggressive stance in favor of enforcing antitrust laws, according to reporting earlier this week in the Financial Times. Either Vice President-elect JD Vance’s adviser Gail Slater or former Department of Justice antitrust division attorney Mark Meador could get the nod, the newspaper said.
Whether Slater, Meador, or another candidate gets the nod, the confirmation process could take months. In the meantime, Trump could appoint one of the two GOP commissioners as acting chair.
There are signs, however, that would bode ill for the Khanservatives: The two Republican commissioners, Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak, both voted against the click-to-cancel rule.
“Everybody ought to just say, ‘Thank goodness.’ It’s a scam that has been baked into some of our companies,” said David Vladeck, a law professor and the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection under President Barack Obama. “I’m just flummoxed that two of the commissioners think that this is not a good idea.” (...)
Even before click-to-cancel was approved, Khan’s agency used existing rules to go after companies like Amazon. The FTC sued the tech giant in 2023 for making it hard to cancel Prime. The company denies tricking people into signing up for Prime or making it hard to cancel.
Outside the commission itself, the new rule faces other potential stumbling blocks. Three corporate trade groups representing the advertising, home security, and cable and TV industries have sued to stop the rule from taking effect. Congress could also overturn the rule.
“Clearly, there are a lot of obstacles to this,” Murray said. “But we certainly hope for the sake of consumers and the sake of businesses that are doing it the right way, that companies will comply with this whether it is required or not.”
Risking Backlash
An attempt to reverse the click-to-cancel rule could please some of Trump’s corporate backers but would also run the risk of a popular backlash. The rule broke through to the public consciousness in a way few FTC decisions do — even earning a nod from Stephen Colbert.
Democratic FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said she had heard repeatedly from ordinary people outside the world of Washington politics praising the adoption of the rule. Khan noted that the rule was driven by public complaints.
“We’ve heard about these complaints across all sorts of contexts, from gym memberships to delivery services,” Khan said Thursday. “These tactics are causing Americans real harm, with people paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars for services they no longer want.”
Click-to-cancel will not be the only big decision for the next FTC chair. The agency is also pursuing lawsuits against Amazon and Facebook’s parent company, Meta, with potentially sweeping implications.
And for more than a year, the FTC has been considering a proposed rule to ban the hidden “junk fees” that raise the cost of everything from apartment rentals to concert tickets. Vladeck, the law professor, said he doubts that Khan can pass that rule before she leaves office.
“The clock is ticking pretty loudly right now,” he said. “I think they’re probably not going to get it done.”
by Matt Sledge, The Intercept | Read more:
With Khan’s time at the FTC running out, the new leadership that Donald Trump installs at the agency could go either way on questions like the click-to-cancel rule.
That’s because Khan, a liberal appointed by a liberal president, has won some unlikely fans among conservatives: the “Khanservatives” who support cracking down on anti-competitive practices. On the other side of the debate are a more traditional GOP constituency: businesses and investors betting big on the loosening of regulation.
The new FTC brass could try to scale down the rule, kill it, or keep it. Or Congress could legislate the rule away.
The rule, passed last month, isn’t enforceable until 180 days after it’s posted in the Federal Register — which may get killed before it even takes effect.
Leading Candidates
Trump has yet to announce his pick to succeed Khan as chair.
Two candidates in the mix could take an aggressive stance in favor of enforcing antitrust laws, according to reporting earlier this week in the Financial Times. Either Vice President-elect JD Vance’s adviser Gail Slater or former Department of Justice antitrust division attorney Mark Meador could get the nod, the newspaper said.
Whether Slater, Meador, or another candidate gets the nod, the confirmation process could take months. In the meantime, Trump could appoint one of the two GOP commissioners as acting chair.
There are signs, however, that would bode ill for the Khanservatives: The two Republican commissioners, Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak, both voted against the click-to-cancel rule.
“Everybody ought to just say, ‘Thank goodness.’ It’s a scam that has been baked into some of our companies,” said David Vladeck, a law professor and the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection under President Barack Obama. “I’m just flummoxed that two of the commissioners think that this is not a good idea.” (...)
Even before click-to-cancel was approved, Khan’s agency used existing rules to go after companies like Amazon. The FTC sued the tech giant in 2023 for making it hard to cancel Prime. The company denies tricking people into signing up for Prime or making it hard to cancel.
Outside the commission itself, the new rule faces other potential stumbling blocks. Three corporate trade groups representing the advertising, home security, and cable and TV industries have sued to stop the rule from taking effect. Congress could also overturn the rule.
“Clearly, there are a lot of obstacles to this,” Murray said. “But we certainly hope for the sake of consumers and the sake of businesses that are doing it the right way, that companies will comply with this whether it is required or not.”
Risking Backlash
An attempt to reverse the click-to-cancel rule could please some of Trump’s corporate backers but would also run the risk of a popular backlash. The rule broke through to the public consciousness in a way few FTC decisions do — even earning a nod from Stephen Colbert.
Democratic FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said she had heard repeatedly from ordinary people outside the world of Washington politics praising the adoption of the rule. Khan noted that the rule was driven by public complaints.
“We’ve heard about these complaints across all sorts of contexts, from gym memberships to delivery services,” Khan said Thursday. “These tactics are causing Americans real harm, with people paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars for services they no longer want.”
Click-to-cancel will not be the only big decision for the next FTC chair. The agency is also pursuing lawsuits against Amazon and Facebook’s parent company, Meta, with potentially sweeping implications.
And for more than a year, the FTC has been considering a proposed rule to ban the hidden “junk fees” that raise the cost of everything from apartment rentals to concert tickets. Vladeck, the law professor, said he doubts that Khan can pass that rule before she leaves office.
“The clock is ticking pretty loudly right now,” he said. “I think they’re probably not going to get it done.”
by Matt Sledge, The Intercept | Read more:
[ed. It's beyond belief that a no-brainer like this should become politicized. Ms Khan's been an exceptional consumer advocate in her short tenure at the FTC, and was just getting started. Too bad she'll be gone soon (but not forgotten). See also: Amazon is a Ripoff; and, FTC Sues Amazon for Illegally Maintaining Monopoly Power.]
