News/Media Alliance Applauds California Autorenewal Law: Urges Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to Change Proposed Negative Option Rule

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Arlington, VA - The News/Media Alliance today applauded Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) for signing California Assembly Bill 2863, legislation governing automatic subscriptions, authored by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo (D-Chatsworth). The bill passed the Legislature with broad bipartisan support.

"This legislation strikes the right balance for consumers and businesses alike by allowing consumers to easily cancel their automatic subscriptions while also being fair to publishers," said President and CEO, Danielle Coffey. "As consumer-facing businesses, trust and transparency with subscribers is of utmost importance and we appreciate the significant changes that were made to the bill to ensure uninterrupted service, convenience and cost savings for consumers and allowing our publishers to continue to provide quality journalism and affordably priced products."

The Alliance worked with a coalition to remove language requiring a separate consent checkbox, which was unnecessary for consumers and would add significant operational costs and burdens. In addition, the bill preserves discount offers for consumers.

The proposed legislation closely resembled a federal rule proposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and we urge the FTC to look at the changes made in the California law for consideration in their final rule.

The law will take effect on July 1, 2025.

###

Media Contact:
Jessica Felix-Romero
Director Communications
[email protected]

The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,200 news and magazine media organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information about the News/Media Alliance can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.