Companies have found ingenious ways to try and keep customers subscribed to their service. While it’s often easy enough to sign up, getting rid of an unwanted subscription is a hassle. You may be forced to show up to your gym in person, or call your carrier’s customer support, only to have people try and convince you to stay. Even unsubscribing from the best video streaming services isn't always straight-forward. The FTC acknowledges that this is anything but consumer-friendly, and has proposed rules that would force companies to offer one-click unsubscribe options.

The new “click to cancel” provision would make it possible for consumers to unsubscribe as easily as they subscribed (via NBC). If you signed up for a contract on a company’s website, the ruling would make it possible for you to cancel it via the same means using only one click. Companies would still be allowed to offer customers special conditions instead of canceling, but they would have to specifically ask for permission to do this before sending an offer without asking.

Under the ruling, subscription services would also have to send annual reminders before collecting the subscription fee.

It might still take a long while before this proposal becomes law, if it ever will. The rule will first have to pass through a lengthy process, and it will also allow the public to add comments. It’s almost certain that companies will try and lobby to weaken the proposal.

Similar legislation was passed in Germany last year, which could give us a glimpse at how the proposal would work in action in the US. In Germany, services that offer subscriptions online need to add a simple form to their websites, allowing subscribers to end their customer relationship by entering their customer data. This form needs to be accessible even when they’re not currently logged in. After hitting the unsubscribe button, the company has to honor and acknowledge the action with a confirmation.