The method of 'subscribing with one click and canceling by phone' is illegal

On the Internet product purchase or service subscription cancellation / cancellation screen, the design may be difficult for the user to understand. This is a deliberate act by companies to prevent user cancellations or cancellations, and some states in the United States are banning such practices. The US government has also begun to solve this problem, and in the future, methods such as 'subscribe to a subscription service with a single click and cancel by phone' are becoming illegal.

FTC to Ramp up Enforcement against Illegal Dark Patterns that Trick or Trap Consumers into Subscriptions | Federal Trade Commission
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/10/ftc-ramp-enforcement-against-illegal-dark-patterns-trick-or-trap

The end of “click to subscribe, call to cancel”? One of the news industry's favorite retention tactics is illegal, FTC says »Nieman Journalism Lab
https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/11/the-end-of-click-to-subscribe-call-to-cancel-one-of-the-news-industrys-favorite-retention-tactics-is- illegal-ftc-says /

Regarding the provision of Internet services, it has long been regarded as a problem that many website designs are 'easy to subscribe to services but difficult to cancel'. Designs aimed at 'difficult to understand' or 'intentionally deceive users ' are called 'dark patterns ', for example, the Amazon Prime churn system is known as a typical example of dark patterns. In fact, Amazon has been sued by consumer groups for this issue.

'Amazon Prime is too difficult to cancel', consumer groups indict Amazon-GIGAZINE

A survey published in March 2021 showed that only 41% of 526 US news organizations offered 'an easy online subscription mechanism.' .. More than half of the organizations accepted cancellations over the phone, and trained customer service was trying to discourage users from canceling.

Against this backdrop, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a policy statement warning companies that develop illegal dark patterns. This requires companies that provide products and services to consumers to provide 'clear information disclosure,' 'agreement,' and 'easy cancellation method,' and companies that violate this requirement are subject to law enforcement measures. It is said that it will be targeted.

Enforcement Policy Statement Regarding Negative Option Marketing
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/1598063/negative_option_policy_statement-10-22-2021-tobureau.pdf

Lina Khan , a legal scholar specializing in antitrust law and chairman of the FTC, said on Twitter that the FTC is concerned about the dark pattern. 'In accordance with the law, companies must ensure clear and consensual service registrations that can be easily canceled, specifically at least as easily as the initial purchase or subscription. We need to provide an easy cancellation mechanism, 'Khan spelled. In other words, 'For services that can be subscribed online, we need a mechanism to cancel online.'

2. To comply with the law, businesses must ensure sign-ups are clear, consensual, and easy to cancel. Specifically, businesses should provide cancellation mechanisms that are at least as easy to use as the method the customer used to buy the product or service in the first place.

— Lina Khan (@linakhanFTC) October 29, 2021

According to the statement, product and service providers, including news organizations, have clarified 'each deadline for consumers to take action to stop billing,' 'amount billed to consumers,' and 'all information necessary to cancel.' And it is necessary to display it prominently. In addition, when customer service accepts cancellations over the phone, 'Do not hang up', 'Do not hold for an unreasonably long time', 'Do not provide incorrect information about cancellation', 'Reception of cancellation request is delayed' It was shown that it is necessary to comply with guidelines such as 'Don't cheat on the reason.'