Congress introduces bipartisan Unsubscribe Act after FTC Click-to-Cancel setback

U.S. Senators Brian Schatz, of Hawaii, and John Kennedy, of Louisiana, announced a bipartisan bill to create new rules around subscription business models, forcing what they said was more transparency and fairness. The two Senators, a Democrat and a Republican, introduced their legislation after a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals blocked the Federal Trade Commission’s “click-to-cancel” rule from nearly two years ago.

The new legislation cites the growth of subscription services for everything from video games to food delivery and fashion, and would require sellers to provide simple means of cancelling subscriptions, among other rules, the two described in a statement late last week. Companies would also be required to periodically notify customers of their contracts and how to cancel them, and “provide clear notice” when a free or reduced-cost trial is complete, ”before charging for the full cost subscription.”