US FTC sues Uber for deceptive billing, complex cancellations

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc, claiming the company engaged in deceptive billing and cancellation practices related to its Uber One subscription service.

The FTC’s complaint, filed on April 21, 2025, alleges that Uber charged users for the subscription without their consent.

It also claims that the company misrepresented the program’s savings and made cancellation excessively difficult.

The agency noted that users could face up to 23 screens and may need to complete as many as 32 actions to cancel the service.

Uber denies wrongdoing, stating that its processes follow the law and that most users can now cancel within 20 seconds.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ FTC’s expanding crackdown on “subscription traps” signals broader regulatory focus

The Uber lawsuit is part of a systematic campaign by the FTC targeting companies that make cancellations difficult, what regulators now call “subscription traps.”

Care.com recently settled with the FTC for $8.5 million over similar deceptive subscription practices, establishing a financial precedent for such violations 1.

This legal action against Uber comes after the FTC’s recently launched “Time Is Money” initiative, which specifically targets customer service designs that maximize profits by making cancellations unnecessarily complex 1.

The agency has also recently pursued similar cases against major tech companies, including Amazon and Adobe, indicating a strategic regulatory priority rather than isolated enforcement 2.

This trend highlights the FTC’s evolving approach to consumer protection in digital markets, with particular scrutiny on companies that create artificial friction in the customer experience.

2️⃣ The “click-to-cancel” principle reshapes subscription business models

The core issue in the Uber case, requiring up to 23 screens and 32 actions to cancel, directly contradicts the FTC’s new regulatory principle that companies must allow customers to cancel services as easily as they signed up.

The FTC’s new Subscriptions Rule specifically mandates “click-to-cancel” options, fundamentally changing how digital subscription services must operate 3.