New York City Implements Click to Cancel Subscription Rule
New York City requires businesses to make canceling automatically renewing subscriptions as easy as signing up for them under a new municipal rule.
New York City implemented a click to cancel rule on October 1, 2026, requiring businesses to ensure that ending automatically renewing subscriptions is as simple as the initial sign-up process. Zohran Mamdani, the Mayor of New York City, stated that if a company can take money with one click, consumers should be able to get it back with one click.
As the first municipality to adopt such a mandate, the city launched a dedicated website portal where consumers can report violations. This local enforcement follows a period of federal instability regarding subscription laws; the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated a national click-to-cancel rule finalized by the Federal Trade Commission in 2024.
While the Federal Trade Commission continues to use existing consumer-protection laws to target companies—including a $35 million settlement with Shutterstock—and Congress considers the bipartisan Unsubscribe Act, New York City's rule provides immediate protections for its residents.
