State Attorneys General and NYC Ramp Up Subscription Enforcement in 2026

Published 2026-01-20 · TrimWell Media News

While federal rulemaking on subscription cancellation remains unresolved, state and local regulators are moving independently. According to Arnold & Porter, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order in early January 2026 directing the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to prioritize investigating illegal subscription practices.

The same advisory notes that roughly 30 U.S. states have already enacted their own automatic-renewal laws, several of which impose requirements stricter than the federal rule that was vacated by the Eighth Circuit in 2025.

Plaintiffs' attorneys have also been active in the space, per the same report, with class-action litigation increasingly targeting companies whose subscription practices don't comply with applicable state disclosure and cancellation requirements.

For consumers, the practical effect is that meaningful legal protections against deceptive subscription practices already exist at the state and city level, independent of how long federal rulemaking ultimately takes.

See which protections may already apply to you in our state automatic-renewal law overview.

Sources: Arnold & Porter.