The War on Porn Regular Updates about the Assault on The Adult Industry
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There’s a familiar hum starting up again in Washington — that low, bureaucratic buzz that usually means a rule thought to be dead isn’t quite finished yet. The Federal Trade Commission has opened the door for public comment on a petition that would revive trade regulation rulemaking around negative option plans, following a federal court decision that knocked out the agency’s earlier “click-to-cancel” rule meant to simplify subscription cancellations.
Earlier this month, the FTC received and published a petition for rulemaking submitted by the Consumer Federation of America and the American Economic Liberties Project. The clock is now ticking, with the public comment period set to run through Jan. 2.
This isn’t the commission’s first time around this particular block. After announcing proposed changes back in March 2023, the FTC was flooded with feedback — more than 16,000 comments poured in from consumers, government agencies, advocacy groups, and trade associations. That kind of response tends to linger, even when the rules themselves get stalled.
Then came the judicial roadblock. In July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit vacated the FTC’s updated Negative Option Rule while further review was pending. Critics had argued that the agency overstepped its authority and cut corners procedurally, particularly by failing to issue a preliminary regulatory analysis. The court agreed enough to hit pause.
The irony is that the Negative Option Rule itself isn’t new or radical. It dates back to the 1970s, when it was designed to stop consumers from being quietly signed up for subscriptions they never agreed to. The proposed updates would have dramatically expanded its reach, applying to most negative option programs — from automatic renewals to free trials that roll into paid plans. For many website operators, that would’ve meant rethinking how sign-ups work, how cancellations happen, and how friction gets engineered into the process.
This new petition may be the first real sign that the “further review” ordered by the appeals court is officially underway. It opens the possibility that the FTC could come back with the same ideas — or close cousins — this time wrapped in tighter procedure and cleaner paperwork. Whether that leads to meaningful consumer protection or just another round of regulatory whiplash remains to be seen. But one thing feels clear: the click-to-cancel fight isn’t over. It just took a breath before getting back up.
