Amazon’s $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”)—which comes on the heels of the district court’s recent summary judgment ruling in favor of the FTC on critical claims in the same case—underscores just...

Update – 7/8/2025: On July 8, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the FTC’s Negative Option Rule in its entirety, meaning that the Rule will not go into effect as scheduled...

The Massachusetts Attorney General has released final regulations (“the Final Regulations”) imposing obligations on businesses that offer auto-renewing subscriptions, as well as businesses that impose purportedly hidden or misleading fees (referred to as “junk fees”). The Final...

Update – 7/8/2025: On July 8, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the FTC’s Negative Option Rule in its entirety, meaning that the Rule will not go into effect as scheduled...

Automatically renewing subscriptions continue to be a prime target for state legislatures. The first six months of 2024 have seen a steady flow of new auto-renewal laws, as well as class action complaints and regulatory...

Update 3/11/25: Massachusetts Finalizes Auto-Renewal & “Junk Fees” Regulations. View the update in our blog post here. In a growing effort to regulate subscription services and purportedly hidden or misleading fees (referred to as “junk...

Automatically renewing subscriptions continue to be a major area of focus for state legislatures. As many states’ legislative sessions come to a close, it is important to be aware of the significant developments in the...

On June 21, 2023, the FTC filed a complaint in federal district court against Amazon for allegedly using manipulative design choices (“dark patterns”) to enroll customers into Amazon Prime subscriptions and to make it difficult...

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on March 23, 2023, with proposed amendments to its Negative Option Rule (as amended, the “Amended Rule” or “Proposed Rule”) that would significantly expand the scope of the Rule and...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has kicked off 2023 by releasing a Circular on unlawful negative option marketing practices with a particular eye towards dark patterns. The guidance warns covered entities and service providers...