By Jody Godoy
May 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is delaying implementation of a rule set to take effect next week that would require businesses to make it as easy to cancel subscriptions and memberships as it is to sign up, to give companies more time to comply, the agency said on Friday.
The rule that has drawn cheers from consumer groups and a lawsuit from business associations was set to take effect on May 14. The FTC will now begin enforcing it on July 14, according to the announcement. The FTC created the rule under former Democratic Chair Lina Khan, but has since defended it from a lawsuit claiming the agency exceeded its authority.
The move shows how the FTC under Donald Trump is seeking to balance the concerns of U.S. consumers, who elected the Republican president on promises of addressing the high cost of living, with complaints from the business community that the agency took too hard a line under Khan.
The rule is based on dozens of enforcement actions and tens of thousands of consumer complaints, the FTC has said.
The rule requires retailers, gyms and other businesses to get consumers' consent for subscriptions, auto-renewals and free trials that convert to paid memberships. The cancellation method must be "at least as easy to use" as the sign up process, it says.
The rule also prohibits requiring consumers who signed up through an app or a website to go through a chatbot or agent to cancel. For in-person sign-ups, companies must provide means to cancel by phone or online.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a trade group representing major cable and internet providers such as Charter Communications CHTR.O, Comcast Corp CMCSA.O, and Cox Communications [RIC:RIC:COXC.UL], and media companies like Disney Entertainment DIS.N and Warner Bros. Discovery WBD.O are among those suing to block the rule.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
((Jody.Godoy@thomsonreuters.com;))
免责声明:投资有风险,本文并非投资建议,以上内容不应被视为任何金融产品的购买或出售要约、建议或邀请,作者或其他用户的任何相关讨论、评论或帖子也不应被视为此类内容。本文仅供一般参考,不考虑您的个人投资目标、财务状况或需求。TTM对信息的准确性和完整性不承担任何责任或保证,投资者应自行研究并在投资前寻求专业建议。