Quick Details
- Date | January 3, 2025
- Time | 1:00 – 2:00 PM EDT
- Location | Webinar
Session Overview
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has long regulated negative options – such as prenotification plans, continuity programs, automatic renewals and free-to-pay conversions – through the Negative Option Rule and strategic enforcement actions. Now, the FTC has concluded a multi-year process, incorporating input from thousands of public comments from consumers, the retail industry, law enforcement partners and others, to publish a final Rule Concerning Recurring Subscriptions and Other Negative Option Programs that regulates automatic renewal programs comprehensively in any and all media (e.g., telephone, internet, traditional print media, and in-person transactions). The final Rule indicates a seismic shift in approach for the subscription industry and implicates extortionate fines for non-compliance.
In this session, Paavana Kumar (Partner, Advertising + Marketing) will discuss the key proposed changes to be aware of, including:
- Key material changes from the Proposed Rule, including deviations from proposals on consumer “save” attempts, definitions of “click to cancel” and “express affirmative consent”, business-to-business applicability, and the vast expansion of the Rule to regulate any material misrepresentations about a product or service that has a negative option feature
- Guidance concerning how to make the appropriate automatic renewal disclosures clearly and conspicuously, how to obtain “express informed consent” and what level of consent and recordkeeping is needed under the new laws
- A deep dive into how marketers can comply with “click to cancel” while prioritizing consumer retention
- A discussion regarding interplay with state laws, likely enforcement, penalties, and potential for the Rule to be challenged in whole or in part
Presenter
- Paavana Kumar, Partner, Advertising + Marketing