Stephen Dubner

In last week's episode, we met the Stanford economist Neil Mahoney, who spent time in both the Biden and Obama administrations. He is particularly interested in consumer finance, which often means protecting consumers from financial exploitation.

Meaning it's easy to sign up for something and forget about it. and keep paying for it. For example, a digital subscription to a newspaper.

Meaning it's easy to sign up for something and forget about it. and keep paying for it. For example, a digital subscription to a newspaper.

Meaning it's easy to sign up for something and forget about it. and keep paying for it. For example, a digital subscription to a newspaper.

You're saying these are 50 newspapers spread out across the country, but you're doing the signing up and canceling in Massachusetts.

You're saying these are 50 newspapers spread out across the country, but you're doing the signing up and canceling in Massachusetts.

You're saying these are 50 newspapers spread out across the country, but you're doing the signing up and canceling in Massachusetts.

And why is it relevant where you're doing it from? Because the laws apply to where your IP address is.

And why is it relevant where you're doing it from? Because the laws apply to where your IP address is.

And why is it relevant where you're doing it from? Because the laws apply to where your IP address is.

And that's just because California has always been pretty consumer progressive in that way, correct? That's right. Okay. So you've got a team, some are in California, some are in Massachusetts, and you're doing the same thing from those two places. Is that right?

And that's just because California has always been pretty consumer progressive in that way, correct? That's right. Okay. So you've got a team, some are in California, some are in Massachusetts, and you're doing the same thing from those two places. Is that right?

And that's just because California has always been pretty consumer progressive in that way, correct? That's right. Okay. So you've got a team, some are in California, some are in Massachusetts, and you're doing the same thing from those two places. Is that right?

So what did Mahoney and his team learn from this research? Remember, in Massachusetts, fewer than half of the biggest newspapers in the country let you cancel online in the first place. Of those that did allow online cancellation, the vast majority slowed down the process with the kind of sludge that Mahoney was just describing.

So what did Mahoney and his team learn from this research? Remember, in Massachusetts, fewer than half of the biggest newspapers in the country let you cancel online in the first place. Of those that did allow online cancellation, the vast majority slowed down the process with the kind of sludge that Mahoney was just describing.

So what did Mahoney and his team learn from this research? Remember, in Massachusetts, fewer than half of the biggest newspapers in the country let you cancel online in the first place. Of those that did allow online cancellation, the vast majority slowed down the process with the kind of sludge that Mahoney was just describing.

And how about in California, consumer-friendly California, which already has laws that are supposed to make it as easy to cancel as it is to sign up. Even there, only 64% of the newspapers actually allowed online cancellation. And of those that did, 83% made the process sludgy.

And how about in California, consumer-friendly California, which already has laws that are supposed to make it as easy to cancel as it is to sign up. Even there, only 64% of the newspapers actually allowed online cancellation. And of those that did, 83% made the process sludgy.

And how about in California, consumer-friendly California, which already has laws that are supposed to make it as easy to cancel as it is to sign up. Even there, only 64% of the newspapers actually allowed online cancellation. And of those that did, 83% made the process sludgy.

In other words, firms purposely sludge up the cancellation process in order to discourage customers from canceling. But soon, this should be a thing of the past. Thanks in part to Mahoney's research and his work in the Biden White House, the FTC recently enacted a rule known as click to cancel. Here's how then-FTC chair Lina Khan put it when the rule was proposed.