Cable companies, advertising firms, and newspapers are asking courts to block a federal “click-to-cancel” rule that would force businesses to make it easier for consumers to cancel services. Lawsuits were filed yesterday, about a week after the Federal Trade Commission approved a rule that “requires sellers to provide consumers with simple cancellation mechanisms to immediately halt all recurring charges.”
The 5th Circuit is generally regarded as the nation’s most conservative, but the 6th Circuit also has a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents. When identical lawsuits are filed in multiple circuits, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation randomly selects a court to handle the case.
The NCTA cable lobby group, which represents companies like Comcast and Charter, have complained about the rule’s impact on their ability to talk customers out of canceling. NCTA CEO Michael Powell claimed during a January 2024 hearing that “a consumer may easily misunderstand the consequences of canceling and it may be imperative that they learn about better options” and that the rule’s disclosure and consent requirements raise “First Amendment issues.”
“Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said. “The FTC’s rule will end these tricks and traps, saving Americans time and money. Nobody should be stuck paying for a service they no longer want.”
my current service is also pretty good. the one i got when i moved here 4 years ago was trash though. not for anything they did other than advertise availability here which was sketchy about a week after i signed up. held on for a year hoping it would improve since the area was seeing more people locating in the area but nope. same crappy service. so cancelled and went back to a previous vendor as they had been making acquisitions nearby.
I have been very fortunate to have good service for essentially the entirety of my life of broadband. Only going back to when optimum first showed up, they were the only game in town, and it would have issues during times of day when there was too much traffic at the node. Since FiOS showed up (not to shill), it’s honestly been phenomenal, when you put aside the typical bullshit the providers pull. The actual service of packets in packets out, or whatever the Internet is, has been great.