New York City has become the first city in the United States to enforce a ban on subscription practices it considers deceptive, now that the rule has taken effect there. The milestone follows a federal appeals court decision that struck down a national version of the same rule on procedural grounds. City officials expect the measure to save New Yorkers between $21.5 million and $162.5 million each year.
Under the rule, businesses face fines beginning at $525 per violation. Consumers who believe a company gave them unclear subscription terms, stalled a cancellation, or failed to disclose that a subscription would renew automatically can file complaints through a new city portal. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection reviews each complaint, may request additional information, and can work to recover consumers' money and help them cancel. A pattern of noncompliance at a business could lead to further investigation and legal action.
Samuel Levine, the DCWP commissioner, said the measure shows how state and local governments can hold companies accountable when federal efforts fall short. Levine previously served as the Federal Trade Commission's consumer protection chief under Lina Khan, where he attempted to establish the click-to-cancel rule nationally. He described the difference between the two efforts as day and night, noting that New York proposed, finalized, and implemented its rule within a single year.
Levine told The Verge in an exclusive interview that he remains proud of the FTC work and views it as a model for other governments, but said the federal process took more than four years and ultimately never delivered relief to Americans. He said he expects more municipalities to act before federal regulators do, which would leave fewer consumers protected but still discourage businesses from using deceptive subscription tactics. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson has taken an initial step toward possibly reestablishing a similar federal rule.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement that no one should have to endure 45 minutes of hold music to stop paying for something they never wanted, and that a company able to take money with one click should let customers get it back the same way. The mayor's Public Interest Technology Crew built the complaint portal in 10 weeks. Levine said users will reach actual people whose full-time job is helping them, rather than being diverted into what he called a chatbot doom loop. He compared the federal America.gov launch unfavorably, describing it as an AI chatbot layered over existing federal infrastructure.
Levine also said the portal is designed to avoid the frustrating experience many people associate with government offices such as the DMV. He argued that restoring public faith in government requires showing it can build excellent products, because even strong laws fail if the people they protect are unwilling to interact with the agencies enforcing them.
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