California's 'Click to Cancel' Law Targets Unwanted Subscriptions

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KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 4 October 2024

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

American consumers are awash in subscriptions, incurring monthly or annual fees for streaming services, software, online gaming memberships, meal delivery and more. And about 40% of us report that we pay for subscriptions we don’t use, according to a 2022 study. Last week Governor Gavin Newsom signed the “Click to Cancel” bill, which will make it easier for Californians to cancel unwanted subscriptions starting in July 2025. We’ll learn more and hear from you: Are you overwhelmed by your subscriptions? How do you manage them? Guests: Pilar Schiavo, assemblymember, California District 40 (San Fernando Valley and Santa Clarita Valley); sponsor of California's "Click to Cancel" law Neale Mahoney , professor of economics, Stanford University; former special policy advisor for economic policy, White House National Economic Council Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:33.5	I'm Mina Kim.
1:34.9	These days, we've got subscriptions not just for streaming services, but also for online games, grocery delivery, beauty products, and pet food.
1:43.2	All of which mean recurring fees that can be hard to manage, like forgetting to cancel when they're no longer needed, or encountering roadblocks when we try.
1:52.5	Some companies have been profiting immensely from this, but a new state law that requires them to make it easier to cancel subscriptions could help consumers save money.
2:01.6	We learn more after this news.
2:15.6	Welcome to Forum. I'm Meena Kim.
2:18.5	With the explosion of subscription services, signing up to buy everything from coffee to music,
2:24.8	it's no wonder 40% of us say we're paying for subscriptions we don't use.
2:30.0	That's according to a 2022 study.
2:32.6	And it's not just forgetfulness or inertia.
	...

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