FTC Negative Option Offer Comment

In December 2019, TINA.org submitted a comment to the FTC, which was seeking public comment on ways to improve its existing regulations for negative option marketing, including whether the agency should use its rulemaking authority under the FTC Act to expand the scope and coverage of the existing Negation Option Rule.

In its comment, TINA.org urged the FTC to provide further consumer protection in this area and summarized relevant statistics concerning the scope of the problem (e.g., the growth of consumer complaints regarding free trials).  TINA.org also explained how, in its current form, the FTC’s Negative Option Rule leaves consumers vulnerable to deception and that updating the Rule would be minimally burdensome to companies, essentially requiring them to be straightforward with its customers.

The FTC then proposed certain amendments to the Negative Option Rule and again requested public comment, prompting TINA.org to file a second comment in June 2023 supporting the Commission’s proposed amendments but also urging additional revisions to increase the rule’s utility and impact.

To read TINA.org’s December 2019 Comment, click here.

To read TINA.org’s June 2023 Comment, click here.