Overview

• The Eighth Circuit ruled the FTC failed to conduct a required preliminary regulatory analysis for a rule with costs exceeding $100 million, vacating the regulation entirely.
• The click-to-cancel rule would have expanded the FTC’s Negative Option Rule to require that subscription cancellations be as easy as enrollments.
• The agency must now redo its rule-making from scratch, likely delaying any comparable federal requirement into 2026.
• California’s state-level click-to-cancel law, which took effect July 1, remains in force and continues to mandate simplified cancellation processes.
• The decision underscores industry challenges to the FTC’s authority and highlights the importance of procedural compliance in federal rule-making.