Washington, DC — Today, Democracy Forward filed an amicus brief on behalf of Main Street Alliance and its 30,000 small business members in support of the Federal Trade Commission’s “Click to Cancel” rule, which protects individual and business consumers from being trapped in unwanted subscriptions and automatic recurring deals.

The “Click to Cancel” rule requires sellers to provide a simple mechanism for the buyer to cancel a subscription, avoid charges, and stop recurring charges. It also provides other important consumer protections, including barring misrepresentations and requiring sellers to make sure a buyer has actually agreed before enrolling them in automatically recurring subscriptions. A collection of business groups have filed suit seeking to invalidate the rule, which was issued under the Biden administration and will prevent widespread harm from these unfair and deceptive practices.

“Small business owners do not have time to jump through obstacles put in place by bigger businesses to cancel unneeded subscriptions or memberships. Every minute spent on hold, or trying to reach a real person is not spent on payroll, business planning, or talking with a customer. Our members need certainty and consistent rules of the road and not to be taken on a ride to cancel a service. The ‘Click to Cancel’ FTC rule serves as an important check on abusive practices, and must be preserved,” said Shawn Phetteplace, National Campaigns Director at Main Street Alliance.

“The challengers in this suit are attempting to strip critical consumer protections from people across the country in order to allow big corporations to use shady business practices to line their pockets,” said Robin Thurston, Legal Director at Democracy Forward. “Fair competition in business is a core American value, and we will stand up to protect consumers and small businesses from being preyed upon by companies engaging in unfair tactics.”

The filing can be read online here.

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