California Governor Signs 'Click to Cancel' Bill to Make Online Subscription Cancellation Easier

TapTechNews September 25th news, according to Engadget, on Wednesday (today) local time, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed California's Click to Cancel bill (Assembly Bill 286), making it a law, and it will be easier for consumers to cancel online subscription services.

The bill was proposed in April 2024 and mandates that companies that register online or in-app must also allow for cancellation online or in-app.

California Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo said, Assembly Bill 286 is the most comprehensive 'click to cancel' legislation in the nation, ensuring that California residents can cancel unwanted auto-renewals as easily as they signed up, just with one or two clicks.

In the past, a user who had once registered for an online subscription service might have to call the service phone number and had to spend a considerable amount of time waiting to finally convince the person on the other end of the phone to agree to cancel the previous subscription - but ironically, it only took five seconds to complete the subscription initially. The newly passed law aims to curb the above phenomenon and make unsubscribing as easy as subscribing.

For example, Adobe's subscription fee is as high as $60 per month (TapTechNews note: currently about 421 RMB). Earlier this year, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued the company, alleging that it charged early termination fees and set obstacles to canceling subscriptions, calling these practices illegal. And last year, the FTC proposed a similar national law, but the final rules have not yet been issued.

The newly passed law provides a grace period for companies and they need to fully comply by mid-2025.