{"id":597,"date":"2026-07-13T16:41:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597"},"modified":"2026-07-13T16:41:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:41:06","slug":"new-york-city-makes-it-easy-to-cancel-subscriptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597","title":{"rendered":"New York City Makes It Easy to Cancel Subscriptions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

New York City became the first municipality in the country to adopt rules that require businesses to make cancelling a subscription as easy as signing up for one. Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the \u201cclick-to-cancel\u201d rule July 10, and it takes effect on October 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Is This the American Suez?<\/a><\/p>\n

The new rule promises hefty fines and aggressive enforcement for companies that violate them. Companies that do not provide a simple option to cancel subscriptions could pay $525 per user subscription. The rules will extend to all companies that run online subscriptions with customers in New York City including online tools, streaming services, and gym memberships.<\/p>\n

The announcement builds on an executive order Mamdani signed four days into his term in January directing the city\u2019s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to crack down on subscription traps and deceptive pricing citywide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can sign up with one click, you should be able to cancel with one click,\u201d Mamdani told reporters at a press conference held in a gym in Lower Manhattan on July 10.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lina Khan, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission, said the agency received tens of thousands of complaints each year from people who lost money to predatory subscription practices. \u201cThese are not just the tactics of fly-by-night scammers,\u201d she said. \u201cThese are now part of the business model for some of the largest companies in our economy.\u201d She pointed to an FTC investigation that found Amazon executives had run an internal initiative called Project Iliad specifically designed to make canceling a subscription harder.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the new rules, Khan said they reflect the vision of municipal socialism Mamdani has pushed since taking office: \u201cThey represent an upwards transfer of wealth; often from people who are already living on the financial margins of this city, to people who are ultimately looking to buy a private jet or a second yacht.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more The Joy of Watching the World Cup in Gaza<\/a><\/p>\n

The New York click-to-cancel rule follows a federal version brought forward by the FTC under Khan, who chaired the agency from 2021 to 2025. That proposal faced fierce pushback from the US Chamber of Commerce, the nation\u2019s largest trade organization, which said the regulations amounted to micromanaging business practices. A federal judge later sided with the chamber\u2019s legal challenges and stopped the rules from taking effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sam Levine, now commissioner of New York City\u2019s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, led the FTC\u2019s Bureau of Consumer Protection alongside Khan. He said the new rules were written on similar lines to the federal rules and adapted to New York city law. \u201cThe court struck the FTC rules down saying the steps were not followed, and the current administration is really slow-walking it,\u201d Levine explained. \u201cSo rather than waiting for the federal government, we are using our tools here to implement this protection.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Levine said that any business that sells a subscription service to New Yorkers are going to be bound by the rules. He added that the city administration is also targeting \u201cjunk fees\u201d that increase the final price of everything from apartments to sporting events, with a rule that requires sellers to \u201cadvertise the total price for any good or service, including all mandatory additional charges and fees, up front.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the latest in a string of consumer and worker protection actions since Mamdani took office, which included a citywide ban on hidden hotel \u201cjunk fees\u201d that took effect in February.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more South Carolina\u2019s Process to Replace Lindsey Graham Is What Democracy Should Look Like<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nation Magazine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNew York City Makes It Easy to Cancel Subscriptions - Atlas Living Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New York City Makes It Easy to Cancel Subscriptions - Atlas Living Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Nation Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Atlas Living Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-13T16:41:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?p=597#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?p=597\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6233854b1f92a6d21147fe5d5e58abc\"},\"headline\":\"New York City Makes It Easy to Cancel Subscriptions\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-13T16:41:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?p=597\"},\"wordCount\":602,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?p=597#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3e6ae001a47585dacd7bae7fa83618aa.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?p=597#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?p=597\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?p=597\",\"name\":\"New York City Makes It Easy to Cancel Subscriptions - Atlas Living Media\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?p=597#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?p=597#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3e6ae001a47585dacd7bae7fa83618aa.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-13T16:41:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6233854b1f92a6d21147fe5d5e58abc\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?p=597#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?p=597\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?p=597#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3e6ae001a47585dacd7bae7fa83618aa.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3e6ae001a47585dacd7bae7fa83618aa.jpg\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":907},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?p=597#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New York City Makes It Easy to Cancel Subscriptions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Atlas Living Media\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6233854b1f92a6d21147fe5d5e58abc\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/atlaslivingmedia.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New York City Makes It Easy to Cancel Subscriptions - Atlas Living Media","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New York City Makes It Easy to Cancel Subscriptions - Atlas Living Media","og_description":"The Nation Magazine","og_url":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597","og_site_name":"Atlas Living Media","article_published_time":"2026-07-13T16:41:06+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f6233854b1f92a6d21147fe5d5e58abc"},"headline":"New York City Makes It Easy to Cancel Subscriptions","datePublished":"2026-07-13T16:41:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597"},"wordCount":602,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3e6ae001a47585dacd7bae7fa83618aa.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597","url":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597","name":"New York City Makes It Easy to Cancel Subscriptions - Atlas Living Media","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3e6ae001a47585dacd7bae7fa83618aa.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-13T16:41:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f6233854b1f92a6d21147fe5d5e58abc"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3e6ae001a47585dacd7bae7fa83618aa.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3e6ae001a47585dacd7bae7fa83618aa.jpg","width":1440,"height":907},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=597#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New York City Makes It Easy to Cancel Subscriptions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/","name":"Atlas Living Media","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f6233854b1f92a6d21147fe5d5e58abc","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com"],"url":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}