Overview

• The Eighth Circuit vacated the click-to-cancel rule on July 8, finding fatal procedural defects just days before its scheduled July 14 enforcement date.
• Judges ruled that the FTC skipped the preliminary regulatory analysis mandated under the FTC Act for rules with an annual economic impact over $100 million.
• The rule would have barred companies from forcing consumers through chatbots or agents to cancel subscriptions and required cancellation methods to match the simplicity of enrollment.
• Legal experts estimate that restarting rulemaking to include a fresh cost-benefit analysis could push any reissued click-to-cancel requirements into 2026.
• The ruling underscores the tension between ambitious consumer protection efforts under former Chair Lina Khan and procedural constraints imposed by the current GOP-led commission and the judiciary.