Pa. House passes 'click-to-cancel' subscription bills

State-Level Click-to-Cancel Momentum

• Commenters note that with the federal “click-to-cancel” rule blocked, states like Pennsylvania, New York, California, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Virginia are now driving consumer protections.
• Several urge residents in other states to pressure local legislators, predicting only a minority of states will ever pass such laws.
• Some see Tennessee as an example of mixed consumer policy: decent protections in some areas but predatory industries (e.g., payday loans) flourishing.

Federal Rule, Courts, and Procedure

• One side emphasizes the federal rule was struck down on a procedural/administrative law issue: the rule’s economic impact exceeded $100M, triggering extra cost–benefit analysis requirements the FTC allegedly skipped.
• Others argue that “procedural” is effectively political, claiming courts can always find a technical flaw if they want to block a rule, and that regulatory and judicial systems are being weaponized.
• Counterpoints insist that forcing agencies to follow rulemaking law is a key safeguard against authoritarian behavior, even for popular or broadly supported rules.
• There is disagreement over whether the current FTC leadership has any real appetite to redo the rule correctly.

States’ Rights, Democracy, and Gerrymandering

• Some hail state-level action as “power to the people.”
• Others argue “states’ rights” often mask power for gerrymandered legislatures and lobbyists, citing examples where state lawmakers override or neutralize voter-approved initiatives (redistricting, labor rules, reproductive rights).
• A few see value in states as policy “labs” whose experiments can inform a future federal standard; critics respond that this is slow, uneven, and sometimes harmful.

Patchwork Regulation vs. Unified Standards

• Several highlight that a 50-state patchwork is costly and complex for businesses, especially online services operating nationwide.
• Others express schadenfreude: national business groups that kill federal rules now must fight or comply with many slightly different state laws, as already happens with privacy rules.
• Some believe this patchwork is a strategic lever: eventually industry may support a reasonable federal law to replace inconsistent state mandates.

Consumer Workarounds and Financial Controls

• Multiple commenters advocate virtual credit cards and card-per-merchant setups to cut off hard-to-cancel subscriptions; others warn that this blocks payments, not contractual liability, so consumers must still show reasonable cancellation efforts.
• People report success involving state attorneys general, sending cancellation letters, or using geolocation/address tricks (e.g., changing address to a state with stronger laws to unlock online cancellation flows).

Scope, Gaps, and Desired Add-Ons

• Commenters criticize carve-outs in the Pennsylvania bills: exemptions for entities regulated by utilities/FCC and especially gyms, which many consider among the worst cancellation offenders.
• Some want additional rules like mandatory renewal/billing notification emails and the ability to stop recurring payments directly at the bank or card-network level, with no credit-report retaliation by merchants.

Business and Engineering Perspective

• Some software engineers see compliance as minor work and even job security; others argue that only companies clinging to “maximally sketchy but legal” practices face real burden—ethical design (easy cancellation for all) is simpler than per-state dark patterns.
• There’s speculation that many companies may either geofence features or just roll out easy cancellation for everyone rather than maintain separate flows.

Broader Cynicism About Institutions

• Thread includes frustration at perceived judicial favoritism toward corporate interests, partisan “activist courts,” and a sense that popular consumer protections are being blocked despite broad public support.
• Still, some point to examples where state supreme courts defended voter initiatives, suggesting institutional checks can sometimes work in favor of the electorate.