The FTC is seeking public comment on an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to amend the Negative Option Rule, which governs prenotification negative option marketing plans. The rulemaking aims to address deceptive or unfair practices including misleading disclosures, unauthorized billing, and difficult cancellation processes, following over 100,000 consumer complaints about negative option practices in the past five years. Comments will be accepted for 30 days after the ANPRM is published in the Federal Register.
This press release does not announce an enforcement action, but rather an FTC proposal to amend the Negative Option Rule governing prenotification negative option marketing. In-house teams should review customer subscription, automatic renewal, and negative option clauses in consumer-facing agreements to ensure clear and conspicuous disclosures of material terms, obtain express informed consent for enrollment, and provide simple, easy-to-use cancellation mechanisms. Vendor agreements involving marketing services should also be reviewed for compliance with negative option marketing requirements.
Entity
None
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/03/ftc-seeks-public-comment-response-advance-notice-proposed-rulemaking-regarding-negative-option
rule concerning use prenotification negative option plans ne
https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/federal-register-notices/rule-concerning-use-prenotification-negative-option-plans-negative-option-rule-advance-notice
rule concerning the use of prenotification negative option p
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/13/2026-04952/rule-concerning-the-use-of-prenotification-negative-option-plans
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"FTC Seeks Public Comment in Response to Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Negative Option Marketing Practices"
"March 11, 2026"
"Federal Trade Commission"
"seeking public comment on an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM)"
"Rule Concerning the Use of Prenotification Negative Option Plans, commonly known as the Negative Option Rule"
"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/13/2026-04952/rule-concerning-the-use-of-prenotification-negative-option-plans"
The FTC settled charges with data broker Kochava, Inc. and its subsidiary Collective Data Solutions (CDS) over allegations that they sold precise location data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices without consumer consent, enabling tracking of visits to sensitive locations like reproductive health clinics and places of worship. The settlement prohibits the companies from selling or sharing sensitive location data without affirmative express consumer consent, and imposes compliance requirements including a sensitive location data program, supplier consent assessments, incident reporting, and data retention schedules. No monetary penalty was imposed.
The FTC filed a complaint and obtained a temporary restraining order against six defendants operating a deceptive health care scheme that impersonated government and insurance carriers to sell fake comprehensive health plans. The defendants allegedly charged consumers without express informed consent, failed to disclose material terms including cancellation processes, and misled consumers into paying for inadequate coverage that left many with substantial medical debt. The FTC seeks refunds for affected consumers and alleges violations of the FTC Act, Telemarketing Sales Rule, Impersonation Rule, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
$140.0M
Following an FTC investigation, a federal court granted summary judgment against timeshare exit scheme operator Christopher Carroll, ordering him to pay $140 million total ($95 million in consumer redress, $45 million civil penalty) for defrauding consumers out of over $90 million. The scheme used deceptive direct mail and in-person pitches, falsely claimed affiliation with timeshare companies, failed to provide refunds, and violated the FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule by forcing consumers to sign non-cancellable contracts. Carroll is also permanently banned from marketing timeshare exit services or engaging in deceptive door-to-door sales.
This press release announces the FTC's testimony before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on April 15, 2026, outlining the agency's priorities including consumer privacy protection, competition enforcement, and implementation of the TAKE IT DOWN Act. No specific enforcement action against a private entity is announced in this release.
The FTC announced an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comment on a potential nationwide rule to address unfair or deceptive fee practices by online food and grocery delivery platforms. The ANPRM covers requirements for disclosing total prices, fees, variable charges, price differentials, and promotion terms. Past FTC enforcement actions against Instacart and Grubhub for deceptive fee practices are cited as evidence of ongoing issues in the industry.
$868K
The FTC announced three separate settlements with companies making false 'Made in USA' claims: TouchTunes (electronic dartboards, $625k consumer redress), Americana Liberty and related parties (flags and flagpoles, $167,743 redress), and Oak Street Bootmakers (footwear, $75k redress). The companies violated the FTC Act, Made in USA Labeling Rule, and for Americana Liberty, the Textile Act and Rules, by making unqualified origin claims for products with significant imported components or wholly imported from China. Each settlement prohibits future misrepresentations of U.S. origin and requires consumer notices.