National Advertising Division Finds Dow Jones “Cancel Anytime” Claim for Wall Street Journal Subscription Supported

New York, NY – July 26, 2023 – The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs determined that Dow Jones & Company, Inc. supported its claim of “cancel anytime” relating to the methods by which consumers can cancel their subscription to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). 

Through its routine monitoring program, NAD inquired about the express “cancel anytime” claim as well as the implied claim that consumers can cancel using the method with which they signed up (including online) for their WSJ subscription. Based on guidance in the Federal Trade Commission’s “Bringing Dark Patterns to Light” Report, NAD determined the claim that consumers can “cancel anytime” reasonably conveys the message that cancelling is easy and similar to the ease of subscribing. 

At the time the challenge was initiated, WSJ claimed on its website that customers who subscribed online could “cancel anytime.” While WSJ offered online cancellation to certain subscribers, in certain other cases the only way a consumer could cancel their subscription was by calling WSJ.

During the proceeding, WSJ completed the planned expansion of its cancellation procedures to allow for automated online cancellations globally. The new global online cancellation procedure can be accessed directly from the website and a user can cancel one or more Dow Jones subscriptions.

Based on the revised online cancellation mechanism, NAD concluded the advertiser was able to substantiate its “cancel anytime” claim.

In its advertiser statement, Dow Jones & Company stated that it is “pleased with NAD’s recognition that The Wall Street Journal’s online cancellation process is easy, satisfies NAD’s interpretation of ‘cancel anytime,’ and meets consumer expectations.” 

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