r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 4h ago
Business NYC is now the first city in America that bans sketchy subscriptions / As of Thursday, the city's click-to-cancel rule has taken effect, which requires businesses to make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it is to sign up.
https://www.theverge.com/policy/1003426/nyc-click-to-cancel-subscriptions-rule161
u/mrplinko 4h ago
I can finally cancel my Columbia house subscription
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u/Dovetrail 2h ago
I totally taped a penny to that damn thing and mailed it in… not knowing it was a deal with the devil.
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u/FreedomofSpeech6969 3h ago
Friendly reminder we had this under Biden and then Trump admin got rid of it :)
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u/shadow_breathing 2h ago
Lina Khan was the best FTC pick of this generation. And we have Biden to thank for it.
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u/WeirdIndividualGuy 1h ago
And he countered it with having the worst AG pick of this generation to let the next guy A) not go to jail and B) be reelected to undo everything Biden did
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u/paintballboi07 1m ago
Sending Trump to jail doesn't prevent him from being reelected. You can run from jail in the US. This is 100% on the voters.
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u/LostMyKarmaElSegundo 2h ago
It would have helped if the measure hadn't taken so long to go into effect. If people had gotten used to it for at least a year or so, the outcry over Trump killing it night have been louder and more persuasive.
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u/ComradeJohnS 2h ago
idk he got rid of abortion rights and nothing drastic happened to him. that was around a lot longer.
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u/Outside-Swan-1936 1h ago
That's because states all made a mad scramble to enshrine the rights in either their constitution or legislation. The states that didn't were always hostile towards it anyway.
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 1h ago
I live in a very red state. The people actually passed a constitutional amendment protecting abortion. The legislature has been trying their hardest to undo it. The can't outright repeal it at this time, though. We also legalized marijuana, but that was just a law not a constitutional amendment. So the legislature has had more luck fucking with that.
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u/Tasgall 1h ago
Biden's foot-dragging is largely what ensured no one would be excited enough to vote Democrat again - between things like this, the refusal to prosecute Trump until like two years into the term, and the endless refusal to end the prohibition of marijuana or reschedule it, it's like the DNC thinks "carrot on a stick" is a strategy that can work forever.
Mamdani is doing a great job of showing what happens when you actually just fucking do shit.
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u/Rot-Orkan 1h ago
They were going after Trump over jan 6, but they were doing it "mafia style" where they start at the bottom and work their way up, gathering evidence, to make sure the charges against the person at the top can stick.
Trump announced his candidacy very early on, which granted him some protections. Then he won the election and the investigation was dropped.
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u/uzlonewolf 24m ago
to make sure the charges against the person at the top can stick.
And boy did those charges stick!
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u/cwfutureboy 7m ago
One of Biden's biggest issues is that he's a relic of days passed: wanting all actions to be bi-partisan while trusting that the people on the other side of the aisle are good-faith actors.
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u/uzlonewolf 21m ago
Yep. The DNC's whole philosophy is "Why should we care about what you think? What are you going to do about it, vote for them?"
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u/invyros 4h ago
The mayor’s Public Interest Technology (PIT) Crew built the portal in 10 weeks; Levine assures consumers that the experience will be far different from the White House’s newly launched America.gov, which he says appears to be “just an AI chatbot layered on top of the federal government’s existing infrastructure.” When consumers submit a complaint to the click-to-cancel portal, Levine says, “they’re not going to be diverted into a chatbot doom loop. We’re going to have actual people whose full-time job is to help them.”
Much prefer what NYC is doing as opposed to just being another way for Elon Musk to funnel American taxpayer money into his pockets (America.gov is powered by Grok).
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u/SilentFire23 2h ago
no its not, its powered by Gemini, https://blog.google/company-news/outreach-and-initiatives/public-policy/america-gov-google-public-sector/
Grok is used for some really specific functions.
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u/jdmb0y 4h ago
This means Adobe has to have a separate cancellation flow just for NYC residents (and I assume in the EU and other places with actual pro-consumer regulations)?
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u/porcelain_elephant 3h ago
California also has click to cancel in place and yet they just gate the experience for California residents. I'm assuming they'll do the same for NYC
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u/frostycakes 1h ago
We have it in Colorado as well but I have yet to see it enabled for ISPs and mobile providers yet, at the least.
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u/Ok_Breakfast7588 3h ago
No it doesn't. Adobe can simply offer everybody the same. It's a choice.
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u/Celodurismo 3h ago
They "could" but they won't cause it's literally free money for them to keep dragging these subscriptions out with horrific cancellation practices. It's not the same as the usb-c push in EU that caused apple to stop lightning.
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u/Ok_Breakfast7588 3h ago
I understand why they won't. I'm highlighting it's a choice because they benefit financially from predatory practices.
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u/Tasgall 1h ago
It's a start - this could easily balloon into a national policy, especially once everyone starts using VPNs to suddenly be New Yorkers for the day when they cancel.
This kind of policy is why California sets the national standards for the automotive industry. They have the biggest market and they have higher standards than most of the country, so car manufacturers build to those standards.
Is different with software (a different website flow is easier to manufacture than different lines of cars), but if this spreads to more areas it won't be worth it to maintain two separate paths.
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u/Celodurismo 1h ago edited 1h ago
could easily balloon into a national policy
It would've already been if
trump didn't repeal it. corrupt judges didn't block itThis kind of policy is why California sets the national standards for the automotive industry. They have the biggest market and they have higher standards than most of the country, so car manufacturers build to those standards.
That's not too similar, at a high level it seems similar, but the hardware implications (maintaining multiple product lines) have significant costs associated with them. A separate cancel order process takes a day to implement.
It's just ultimately another reminder of the pathetic level of consumer protections in this country and a reminder of the quality of politicians. Why didn't NY state implement it, why NYC? Why haven't more other states or cities implemented it?
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u/banditta82 28m ago
New York state did already last year:
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u/Celodurismo 12m ago
These aren't the same (obviously otherwise NYC wouldn't do it). The state one is like if you signed up in person you can also cancel online/phone. Whereas the NYC one requires online cancellation be provided, and I believe it has more language regarding what's considered unreasonably difficult to cancel and it also establishes city-level fines.
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u/Skin4theWin 3h ago
They already do for California, and the penalties for canceling early are reduced as well, just change your address to California or use that as your “mailing” address and you should get the click to cancel side vs their normal trash
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u/williamgman 2h ago
Or they could just make it the same across the board. But I'm sure that's a bridge too far.
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u/seanthenry 1m ago
They will just add an approval process to the subscription. It will quickly be approved for activation, but the review will take much longer because they need to make sure that you really want to cancel.
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u/AutoX_Advice 4h ago
How awful, it's policies like these that are running the American dream... Correction i meant "the shareholders dream".
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u/recorderx99 1h ago
I hope the New York Times is listening...
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u/This-Requirement6918 1h ago
Someone just made a post in the Houston sub about the Houston Chronicle making you call them to cancel. 🤣
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u/noncommonGoodsense 3h ago
Comcast will be in shambles not sending you to 9000 Indian call retention groups to waste your time get mad at you for wanting to cancel service for glow fiber.
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u/TheRadHatter9 1h ago
Funny enough they're not affected by it (Spectrum out here). Here in California they make you call to sign up, which means they can force you to call to cancel too, there isn't an option to sign up or cancel online. The law has made things overall better, but some companies try to work around it like that. Does this mean they've expanded their call team? Nope. You still have to sit on hold forever and deal with their retention team when canceling.
I don't know if you can sign up online in NYC, but I would expect that to go away soon enough.
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u/Trippingthru99 3h ago
California has had this for a minute
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u/TheGoddamnSpiderman 1h ago
New York has also had this on the book statewide since 2021. I'm not sure what this bans that the state law didn't already ban, but I guess even if it overlaps, it's probably still good you can now also report violations to city authorities
Unlawful practices. 1. It shall be unlawful for any business making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a consumer in this state to:
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d-1. fail to provide the consumer with the option to cancel, at any time through all mediums by which the business allows a consumer to provide affirmative consent to, the automatic renewal, continuous service offer, or any price increase. Provided further that, where consent was obtained in person, in addition to offering cancellation, where practical via an in-person method similar to that the user used to consent, the business shall at least offer cancellation through an online mechanism or over a telephone number;
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u/artbystorms 2h ago
Biden passed this as an executive order back in like 2023 (because Congress is a bunch of lazy babies). Guess who undid it?
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u/RedBadger8 2h ago
Hiding the cancel button behind three screens and a phone call just got a lot more expensive.
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u/torments6 57m ago
Threadbeast was the worst about this... I literally had to give them a call number and take a day off work and sit by my phone and wait for them to call to then argue with the person to cancel my subscription
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u/AcquireTheSauce 3h ago
Does this apply to gym memberships as well?
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u/onemoreheadache 1h ago
Wondering this as well as most gym in NYC operates under a 12 month contract
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u/kubi 4h ago
It's odd that the title makes a big deal about it being the first city in America, but the article fails to mention there is a whole state that already has this law.
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u/alfaafla 3h ago
Speaking of fails to mention ......
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u/TheGoddamnSpiderman 1h ago
I assume they're referring to California, but lots of states, including New York itself, already have these laws in some form
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u/fred11551 1h ago
It was a rule for the entire country two years ago until the administration got rid of it
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u/Sunday_Schoolz 3h ago
Getting rid of the sludge! Now that’s a practical win for everyone (except scammers).
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u/Canon_M50 1h ago
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2863
California's 482 cities have had this law since July 2025.
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u/DrTommyNotMD 1h ago
So how will NYC enforce this for the 99% of businesses that don’t reside in NYC?
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u/Korlithiel 1h ago
Like any part of America that passes local laws: file torts to help those companies come into compliance with local laws. Settle when said companies make sufficient goodwill efforts.
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u/Pale-Object8321 1h ago
Couldn't they simply get fined if they tried to be sketchy while doing business on the citizens in NYC? That doesn't seem too hard to enforce.
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u/Natoochtoniket 35m ago
I think it is based on the location of the customer, not the business.
Which leads to another question. If a person who lives somewhere else visits NYC, should he be able to cancel subscriptions during that visit?
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u/Overclocked11 3h ago
Its wild to think how much better cities and communities across North America would be if all elected officials were clones of Mamdani. this man is kicking ass and taking names.
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u/LocodraTheCrow 2h ago
Someone should now make a subscription thing that's as much of a pain to join as it is to leave. Cancelling is just as hard as before.
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u/ElonMuskHuffingFarts 2h ago
So I have to put in all my address and credit card info to cancel too?
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u/ChoicePermission8523 1h ago
ISPs are screaming.
Of course any progress we made in reining them in was undone by the regime.
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u/Dat_Mawe3000 1h ago
They should also lead the way in banning texts confirming that you’ve unsubscribed from texts.
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u/ThatArtlife 1h ago
He makes every day brighter. Everytime I see his face or his actions I feel relieved.. safe... Calm.. more plz
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u/Miserable-Yak-8041 1h ago
Much appreciation for someone finally changing things people actually want to see changed
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u/vpsj 56m ago
Clarify something please: Can't you just cut them off from your bank and/or credit card's website?
In my country I get an email from my bank about a "Standing Instruction" whenever I've subscribed to a service. I get emails again a couple of days before the plan is about to be renewed (I usually subscribe to annual plans as they are cheaper)
But there is always an option in those emails where I can just cancel those Standing Instructions with a click which disables the auto debit and whatever service I had subscribed to will not be able to withdraw money from my account.
Can't people not do that in the US?
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u/After-Syrup1290 25m ago
No, you can't
An example is adobes cancellation which, if you wanna cancel for a program of theirs? They take more than the amount you subscribed for as part of their cancellation fees
And that's just, one example, of one large company... Tons of many many things go on in the subscription place that makes cancellation very much difficult once done
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u/pinpanpum039 44m ago
I need help cancelling Nat Geog digital subscription. Done everything followed all instructions etc thx
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u/anttaaii 40m ago
What types of organizations have to follow this type of law? Do you have to follow it if you are based in nyc or if your customers are based in nyc or is it both?
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u/Due-Leek-8307 33m ago
I'd love a free trial means free trial rule. If it's offered that's it. No need to give CC info on the hopes put forgot to put a reminder to cancel before the charge goes through.
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u/O0OIlIO0OlIl0O0lIl 32m ago
Virginia passed a click to cancel law earlier this year.
I’ve still been trying to cancel my anytime fitness membership for 5 months now.
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u/SendNinjas 22m ago
"As easy to cancel, as it is to sign up" So who says they won't fuck around and make it gradually more difficult to sign up
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u/Bostonterrierpug 13m ago
I am glad they banned this. I’m just glad my subscription to the Brooklyn Bridge wasn’t affected.
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u/Krojack76 5m ago
We need some small obscure town that's hard or can't be geolocated using IP addresses to make a law like that. They would apply $500k fines for each violation. This way companies can't code their website to make it look different for just that town thus just has to make it global.
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u/dangerous_service 1m ago
I always hated when you can easily sign up online but then have to call to get a subscription cancelled and being stuck in some queue.
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u/Username_Mine 1h ago
It's a good law but honestly this sort of authority really be left to states or the federal government. Trying to operate as a national company while navigating city level regulations would be fiendish.
It's one of those frustrating "the people who should do this have failed, now the people who shouldnt are stepping up"
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u/bernmont2016 1h ago
We would've had a similar policy at the federal level, if only Trump hadn't stopped it.
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u/MidWestKhagan 2h ago
Zohran spending 30,000,000 dollars to combat “antisemitism” when Black folk face massive amounts of violence and oppression has completely polluted anything that Zohran is trying to do. 30,000,000 dollars to arrest people for saying free Palestine online and in person is absolutely insane.
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u/BlueDahlia123 1h ago
Misinfo.
As he stated in the reveal, jewish people hvae seen a rise in hate crimes in NYC, making up around 50% of reported attacks, which is disproportionately high compares to other minorities.
Most of that money (26m) goes into general hate crime prevention measures.
At no point he or his official statements (including the nyc gov website) include criticisms of Israel, zionism or anything like that as part of the definition of antisemitism.
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u/NetAnon579 4h ago
Should just be the default but we have allowed the situation to get crazy.