Lawmakers in California hit back at hard-to-cancel subscriptions

One of the things that many of us hate about tech is when a company makes it easy to sign up for a subscription online but makes it much harder to cancel that recurring payment. You’ll often be directed to call a phone number instead, only to be dogged by automated menus and hold music as you try to escape the financial commitment. To counter that kind of deliberate move by service providers, Californian lawmakers are now clamping down on the practice by signing a new click-to-cancel measure into law.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed a series of consumer protection bills on Wednesday, with Assembly Bill 2863 focusing on eliminating unfair subscription practices. This new law mandates that businesses offering subscription services must provide a straightforward, user-friendly method for cancelation that mirrors the process used to sign up.

Supporting the move, Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo said, “AB 2863 is the most comprehensive ‘Click to Cancel’ legislation in the nation, ensuring Californians can cancel unwanted automatic subscription renewals just as easily as they signed up — with just a click or two.”

The other consumer protection bills signed into law also takes aim at unjust industry practices. They include legislation to prevent medical debt from being included on consumers’ credit reports and protection against unfair banking fees.

The legislation will only apply to subscriptions entered into, amended, or extended on or after July 1, 2025, giving companies nine months to comply with the new rules. Consumers in other parts of the US will just have to be hopeful that the move might set a precedent for other states to consider similar measures.