The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the FTC's “click to cancel” rule which was set to take effect on July 14.
According to the court, the FTC erred in its rulemaking process by failing to produce a preliminary regulatory analysis (a statutory requirement for rules whose annual effect on the national economy would exceed $100 million).
The FTC argued that it was not required to prepare the preliminary analysis because its initial estimate of the rule’s impact on the national economy was under the $100 million threshold — even though ultimately the presiding officer determined the impact exceeded the threshold. The court disagreed with the FTC's argument, and vacated the rule.
This means that the FTC’s “click to cancel” rule will not take effect on July 14. However, the ruling does not affect the various state automatic renewal laws, which will still apply.
[View source.]
