“They hold their gym members hostage”: Online memes erupt against Planet Fitness as FTC announces ‘Click-to-cancel’ rule

The FTC triggered a meme fest against Planet Fitness on October 16, 2024, following the announcement of the ‘Click-to-cancel’ rule.

The unprecedented rule makes it necessary for businesses to simplify membership cancellations and make them as easy as signing up. Aimed at shielding consumers from unwanted membership continuations, the rule may greatly impact businesses with complex cancellation processes.

FTC’s ‘Click-to-cancel’ rule had the internet in splits about the fate of Planet Fitness, which allegedly binds customers through their complicated cancellation processes. Claiming the fitness center holds members hostage through the subscriptions, a user tweeted:

“Goodbye Planet Fitness 💀 They hold their gym members hostage”

Some of the other users who seemed to have had similar experiences with the fitness center franchise tweeted:

“Planet Fitness is about to go through some things,” said one user.

“Planet Fitness execs panicking after the FTC makes it easier to cancel your gym memebership….about time,” joked another user.

“Planet Fitness gonna go bankrupt,” claimed one X user.

Several X users who were seemingly wronged by shady membership didn’t shy away from making even more brutal jokes about Planet Fitness and tweeted:

“Planet Fitness, count your MF days bi*ch,” tweeted one X user.

“Planet Fitness you will crumble!!!,” joked another user.

“Planet Fitness your day is coming…,” said one X user.

A look at FTC’s ‘Click-to-cancel’ rule amid the meme fest against Planet Fitness

The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed the ‘Click-to-cancel’ rule in March 2023 and finally adopted it on October 16, 2024. It is the agency’s last rule before the November 5 presidential election. The rule is speculated to come into effect within the next 180 days after being published in the Federal Register.

The Click-to-cancel rule is a long-awaited response to hundreds and thousands of consumer complaints. It will shield consumers who often suffer due to cancellation processes that are absurdly complex in comparison to the easy signing-up processes.

FTC Chairwoman, Lina Khan, announced the finalized rule through a press release on Wednesday and hinted at its importance while saying:

“Companies shouldn’t be able to trick you into paying for subscriptions that you don’t want.”

Sharing how the ill-found motives of the practices became clear during the pandemic, Khan added:

“The pandemic brought to the surface just how businesses are making people jump through endless hoops. Requiring in-person cancellations while the businesses themselves were closed really highlighted the absurdity of these practices.”

The “click-to-cancel” rule will apply to all retailers and service providers selling a product or service through automatic renewals, subscriptions, and other similar systems.

The businesses will also be required to get proper consent from the customers for auto-renewals of subscriptions and even the conversion of trial memberships to paid ones.

As such, a customer who bought a membership on a mobile app must not have to call an agent or visit a store to cancel the service.

The FTC passed the ‘Click-to-cancel’ rule with a 3-2 majority. While the Democratic commissioners voted for the motion to pass the rule, the Republican commissioners voted against it.