Subscription traps targeted as part of crackdown on junk fees
It should be as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to make it, consumer advocates have been saying for years. Regulators are starting to listen.
New York City adopts first-in-the-nation crackdown on ‘subscription traps’ as junk-fee fight expands
Consumers could soon find it much easier to cancel unwanted subscriptions, while hidden mandatory fees may also come under new scrutiny.
James R. Hood
July 10, 2026
Americans lose hundreds yearly on subscriptions; now, a bipartisan bill targets ‘dark patterns’
Left for dead, Unsubscribe Act returns in new bipartisan bill
James R. Hood
Jan. 14, 2026
‘Click to Cancel’ rule coming to NYC but still blocked nationwide by a court ruling
Nothing annoys consumers more than being trapped in self-renewing subscriptions that are nearly impossible to break
James R. Hood
April 17, 2026
Washington Post hit with class-action lawsuit alleging it used a decade of reader data to set higher subscription prices for its most loyal readers
Growing awareness of “surveillance pricing” lands a prominent defendant
James R. Hood
June 12, 2026
Shutterstock faces $35 million penalty for FTC finding of unfair subscription charges
The stock photo agency charged customers without their consent, the agency said
James R. Hood
May 15, 2026
FTC seeks public comment on new rules to crack down on subscription ‘negative option’ billing
The agency gets tens of thousands of complaints about the hated practice
James R. Hood
March 13, 2026
