* § 527-a. Unlawful practices. 1. It shall be unlawful for any
business making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a
consumer in this state to do any of the following:

a. fail to present the automatic renewal offer terms or continuous
service offer terms in a clear and conspicuous manner before the
subscription or purchasing agreement is fulfilled and in visual
proximity, or in the case of an offer conveyed by voice, in temporal
proximity, to the request for consent to the offer. If the offer also
includes a free gift or trial, the offer shall include a clear and
conspicuous explanation of the price that will be charged after the
trial ends or the manner in which the subscription or purchasing
agreement pricing will change upon conclusion of the trial;

b. charge the consumer's credit or debit card or the consumer's
account with a third party for an automatic renewal or continuous
service without first obtaining the consumer's affirmative consent to
the agreement containing the automatic renewal offer terms or continuous
service offer terms, including the terms of an automatic renewal offer
or continuous service offer that is made at a promotional or discounted
price for a limited period of time; or

c. fail to provide an acknowledgment that includes the automatic
renewal or continuous service offer terms, cancellation policy, and
information regarding how to cancel in a manner that is capable of being
retained by the consumer. If the offer includes a free gift or trial,
the business shall also disclose in the acknowledgment how to cancel and
allow the consumer to cancel before the consumer pays for the goods or
services.

2. A business that makes an automatic renewal offer or continuous
service offer shall provide a toll-free telephone number, electronic
mail address, a postal address only when the seller directly bills the
consumer, or another cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use mechanism
for cancellation that shall be described in the acknowledgment specified
in paragraph c of subdivision one of this section.

3. a. In addition to the requirements of subdivision two of this
section, a consumer who accepts an automatic renewal or continuous
service offer online shall be allowed to terminate the automatic renewal
or continuous service exclusively online, which may include a
termination email formatted and provided by the business that a consumer
can send to the business without additional information.

b. A business that allows a consumer to accept an automatic renewal or
continuous service offer for an initial paid term of one year or longer,
provided that such automatic renewal or continuous service renews for a
paid term of six months or longer, shall notify such consumer of such
upcoming automatic renewal or continuous service charge to such
consumer's account at least fifteen days before, but not more than
forty-five days before, the cancellation deadline for such automatic
renewal. Such notice shall include instructions on how to cancel such
renewal charge.

c. The provisions of paragraph b of this subdivision shall not apply
to any business, or subsidiary or affiliate thereof, regulated by the
public service commission or the federal communications commission.

4. In the case of a material change in the terms of the automatic
renewal or continuous service offer that has been accepted by a consumer
in this state, the business shall provide the consumer with a clear and
conspicuous notice of the material change and provide information
regarding how to cancel in a manner that is capable of being retained by
the consumer.

5. The requirements of this article shall apply only prior to the
completion of the initial order for the automatic renewal or continuous
service, except as follows:

a. The requirement in paragraph c of subdivision one of this section
may be fulfilled after completion of the initial order.

b. The requirement in subdivision four of this section shall be
fulfilled prior to implementation of the material change.

6. In any case in which a business sends any goods, wares,
merchandise, or products to a consumer, under a continuous service
agreement or automatic renewal of a purchase, without first obtaining
the consumer's affirmative consent, the goods, wares, merchandise, or
products shall for all purposes be deemed an unconditional gift to the
consumer, who may use or dispose of the same in any manner he or she
sees fit without any obligation whatsoever on the consumer's part to the
business, including, but not limited to, bearing the cost of, or
responsibility for, shipping any goods, wares, merchandise, or products
to the business.

7. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application
may be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of the
state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction to issue an
injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of not less than five days,
to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such violations; and if it
shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or justice that the
defendant has in fact, violated this section, an injunction may be
issued by such court or justice, enjoining and restraining any further
violation, without requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been
injured or damaged thereby. In any such proceeding the court may make
allowances to the attorney general as provided in section eighty-three
hundred three of the civil practice law and rules, and direct
restitution. In connection with any such proposed application, the
attorney general is authorized to take proof and make a determination of
the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil
practice law and rules. Whenever the court shall determine that a
violation of this section has occurred, the court may impose a civil
penalty of not more than one hundred dollars for a single violation and
not more than five hundred dollars for multiple violations resulting
from a single act or incident. A knowing violation of this section shall
be punishable by a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars
for a single violation and not more than one thousand dollars for
multiple violations resulting from a single act or incident. No business
shall be deemed to have violated the provisions of this section if such
business shows, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the violation
was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error made
notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to
avoid such error.

8. The following are exempt from the requirements of this article:

a. any service provided by a business or its affiliate where either
the business or its affiliate is doing business pursuant to a franchise
issued by a political subdivision of the state;

b. any entity, or subsidiary or affiliate thereof, regulated by the
department of financial services;

c. security system alarm operators;

d. banks, bank holding companies, or the subsidiary or affiliate of
either, or credit unions or other financial institutions, licensed under
state or federal law; and

e. sellers and administrators of a service contract, as defined
pursuant to section seven thousand nine hundred two of the insurance
law.

* NB Effective until November 5, 2025

* § 527-a. Unlawful practices. 1. It shall be unlawful for any
business making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a
consumer in this state to:

a. fail to present to the consumer, in a clear and conspicuous manner,
the material terms of any automatic renewal offer or continuous service
offer, including but not limited to a description of the product or
service subject to renewal, the amount of the costs that will be
charged, the frequency of charges, the deadline by date or frequency by
which the consumer must act to prevent or stop further charges, and
cancellation mechanisms described in paragraphs d and d-1 of this
subdivision, before consent to the offer or billing information has been
requested and in visual proximity, or in the case of an offer conveyed
by voice, in temporal proximity, to the request for consent to the
offer. If the offer also includes a free gift or trial, or the price is
temporary, the offer shall include a clear and conspicuous explanation
of how and when the price will change and the price or prices that will
subsequently be charged to the consumer;

b. charge the consumer or the consumer's account with a third party
for the initial term of an automatic renewal or continuous service
without first obtaining the consumer's affirmative consent to the
agreement containing the the terms of automatic renewal offer or
continuous service offer, including the terms of an automatic renewal
offer or continuous service offer that is made at a promotional or
discounted price for a limited period of time;

b-1. charge the consumer or the consumer's account with a third party
following an increase in price, or a price higher than what was
disclosed pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision, relating to an
automatic renewal or continuous service offer to which the consumer
previously consented, without either: (i) first obtaining the consumer's
affirmative consent to such increased price; or (ii) allowing the
consumer to cancel such automatic renewal or continuous service anytime
within, at least, fourteen days after such charge and refund the
consumer in the amount equivalent to the price of the remaining term of
the service, at the time of such cancellation, on a pro rata basis. The
provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed to require any
business to obtain affirmative consent from the consumer regarding a
price increase, or a price increase not disclosed pursuant to paragraph
a of this subdivision, more than once prior to charging the consumer
such increased price;

c. fail to provide a notice promptly following affirmative consent, in
a manner that is capable of being retained by the consumer. Such notice
shall include:

(i) the terms of the automatic renewal or continuous service
agreement;

(ii) the amount of costs that will be charged;

(iii) the frequency of charges;

(iv) the deadline by date or frequency by which the consumer must act
to prevent or stop further charges; and

(v) the cancellation mechanisms, as described in paragraphs d and d-1
of this subdivision;

d. fail to provide the consumer with the option to cancel at any time
using a simple cancellation mechanism that is as easy to use as the
mechanism that the consumer used to provide consent and that is through
the same medium that the consumer used to provide consent;

d-1. fail to provide the consumer with the option to cancel, at any
time through all mediums by which the business allows a consumer to
provide affirmative consent to, the automatic renewal, continuous
service offer, or any price increase. Provided further that, where
consent was obtained in person, in addition to offering cancellation,
where practical via an in-person method similar to that the user used to
consent, the business shall at least offer cancellation through an
online mechanism or over a telephone number;

e. impose unreasonable or unlawful conditions upon, refuse to
acknowledge, obstruct or unreasonably delay cancellation requested or
attempts to request cancellation by a consumer. Provided further that:

(i) unreasonable or unlawful conditions include, but without
limitation, hanging up on consumers who call to cancel, providing false
information about how to cancel, misrepresenting the consequences or
costs of cancellation, or misrepresenting the reasons for delays in
processing consumers' cancellation requests; and

(ii) if a consumer conveys a request to cancel, the business may
present the consumer with a discounted offer, retention benefit or
information regarding the effect of cancellation but may not impose
unreasonable or unlawful conditions upon consumer's ability to cancel,
refuse to acknowledge, obstruct or unreasonably delay cancellation
requested;

f. fail to notify a consumer of an automatic renewal or continuous
service charge for an automatic renewal or continuous service offer with
an initial paid term of one year or longer, provided that such automatic
renewal or continuous service renews for a paid term of six months or
longer, at least fifteen days before, but not more than forty-five days
before, the cancellation deadline for such automatic renewal in the
manner selected by the consumer, including text, email, app notification
or any other notification channel offered by the business. Such notice
shall include instructions on how to cancel such renewal charge;

g. fail to provide a consumer who has accepted an automatic renewal or
continuous service offer with a clear and conspicuous notice of any
material change to the terms of the automatic renewal or continuous
service offer, including any price increases, at least five business
days prior, but no more than thirty days prior, to the date of the
change, in the same manner as required by paragraph f of this
subdivision; or

h. fail to notify a consumer of an automatic renewal or continuous
service charge for an automatic renewal or continuous service offer if
the automatic renewal or continuous service offer includes a free gift
or trial for a period of more than a month, followed by an upcoming
automatic renewal or continuous service charge, at least three days
before but not more than twenty-one days before the cancellation
deadline for the first chargeable period in the manner selected by the
consumer, including text, email, app notification or any other
notification channel offered by the business. Such notice shall include
instructions on how to cancel such renewal charge.

2. In any case in which a business sends any goods, wares,
merchandise, or products to a consumer, under a continuous service
agreement or automatic renewal of a purchase, without first obtaining
the consumer's affirmative consent, the goods, wares, merchandise, or
products shall for all purposes be deemed an unconditional gift to the
consumer, who may use or dispose of the same in any manner such consumer
sees fit without any obligation whatsoever on the consumer's part to the
business, including, but not limited to, bearing the cost of, or
responsibility for, shipping any goods, wares, merchandise, or products
to the business.

3. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application
may be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of the
state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction to issue an
injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of not less than five days,
to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such violations; and if it
shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or justice that the
defendant has in fact, violated this section, an injunction may be
issued by such court or justice, enjoining and restraining any further
violation, without requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been
injured or damaged thereby. In any such proceeding the court may make
allowances to the attorney general as provided in section eighty-three
hundred three of the civil practice law and rules, and direct
restitution. In connection with any such proposed application, the
attorney general is authorized to take proof and make a determination of
the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil
practice law and rules. Whenever the court shall determine that a
violation of this section has occurred, the court may impose a civil
penalty of not more than one hundred dollars for a single violation and
not more than five hundred dollars for multiple violations resulting
from a single act or incident. A knowing violation of this section shall
be punishable by a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars
for a single violation and not more than one thousand dollars for
multiple violations resulting from a single act or incident. No business
shall be deemed to have violated the provisions of this section if such
business shows, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the violation
was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error made
notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to
avoid such error.

4. The following are exempt from the requirements of this article:

a. any service provided by a business or its affiliate where either
the business or its affiliate is doing business pursuant to a franchise
issued by a political subdivision of the state;

b. any entity, or subsidiary or affiliate thereof, regulated by the
department of financial services;

c. security system alarm operators;

d. banks, bank holding companies, or the subsidiary or affiliate of
either, or credit unions or other financial institutions, licensed under
state or federal law; and

e. sellers and administrators of a service contract, as defined
pursuant to section seven thousand nine hundred two of the insurance
law.

* NB Effective November 5, 2025