Navigating the New FTC Rule

The FTC's negative option rule brings six new requirements around clarity and transparency in subscription marketing — and it catches more merchants than you'd think, extending beyond direct-to-consumer businesses to B2B as well. In this session, Jessica Michler walks through what the rule actually requires, where the risk areas are, and how Recurly's checkout, consent, and account management tools are evolving to help you meet them.

What's covered:

• What "negative option marketing" means and why the rule now applies to B2B companies, not just consumer subscriptions
• Disclosure requirements: what needs to be clearly stated before signup, including plan name, price, billing frequency, and cancellation terms
• How to collect and store proof of consent, including opt-in checkboxes and digital signature best practices for custom checkout implementations
• The click-to-cancel requirement: why cancellation must be as easy as signup, and how Recurly's API supports flexible cancellation policies (next bill date, term end, or immediate)
• Where Recurly is adding compliance safeguards, including warnings if a cancel button is removed from hosted account management pages