New York will become the first city in the country to require that consumers be allowed to cancel subscriptions for streaming services and gym memberships in the way that they signed up. Known as “click-to-cancel,” it means that if you signed up online, you should be able to cancel online rather than making a phone call or appearing in person (as gyms have sometimes forced consumers to do). Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the new rule at a press conference Friday, where he also introduced a proposed rule that would require businesses to list the full price of goods and services upfront, including any additional fees. “For years, companies have built their business model around making it harder for working people to hold onto their money,” Mandani said in a press release. “Whether it’s hidden fees that suddenly appear at checkout or subscriptions that take one click to sign up for and a dozen steps to cancel, the result is the same: working people pay more while corporations profit.”
“That ends now,” said Mamdani. “If you can sign up with one click, you can cancel with one click.” The new click-to-cancel rule will be in full force on Oct. 1 and is covered by Mandani’s Executive Order 10, while Executive Order 9 establishes the task force on junk fees. There’s a planned public hearing on the junk fees rule for August 7 before it’s implemented on January 1, 2027. The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) will be tasked with enforcing it.
