The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) on May 9, 2025, voted to defer the compliance deadline for the amended Negative Option Rule (Rule) by 60 days "given the complexities" of conforming to the amended Rule. Businesses now have until July 14, 2025, to come into compliance with the Rule's requirements, including providing additional disclosures, consents and simple cancellation protocols for all sales (including business-to-business) with a negative option feature, such as auto-renewing subscriptions and sales. Though uncertainty abounded about whether the FTC would enforce the Rule – with its newly appointed Commissioners who previously dissented during rulemaking and the dismissal of two Democratic Commissioners – all signs point to active enforcement once the Rule goes into effect on July 14.
Businesses should not sit idly by but instead ensure compliance with the Rule requirements given the Commission's statement that "regulated entities must be in compliance with the whole of the Rule because the Commission will begin enforcing it." The FTC also noted that "if enforcement experience exposes problems with the Rule, the Commission is open to amending the Rule to address any such problems." Businesses should expect active enforcement on and after July 14, following on the heels of the FTC's recent action against Uber, as Holland & Knight previously reported.
