Unsubscribe Act of 2021

Unsubscribe Act of 2021

This bill requires that certain consumer protections are included in negative option agreements (an agreement under which a consumer's failure to take an affirmative action is considered approval to be charged for goods or services). These agreements are prohibited unless

• the agreement discloses all material terms;
• a consumer provides express informed consent before the consumer is charged for a product or the agreement is automatically renewed; and
• the agreement provides the consumer with a way to cancel the agreement, in the same manner by which the agreement was entered, before incurring further or increased charges.

Further, under free-to-pay conversion contracts (a type of negative option agreement where a consumer is charged a nominal introductory rate and an increased rate after the introductory period ends), before charging a consumer the provider of the good or service must obtain the consumer's informed consent, provide the terms of the contract, and provide information about how to cancel the contract.

The bill also requires that certain notifications are provided to consumers in the context of other forms of negative option agreements online, such as notice between two and seven days before an automatic renewal.

The bill provides for enforcement of these requirements by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general.