The US FTC sues Uber, claiming the company charged for Uber One without consent, made it difficult to cancel, and failed to deliver promised savings

The Federal Trade Commission on Monday sued Uber, accusing the ride-hailing and delivery company of deceptive billing and cancellation practices tied to its subscription service.

CNBC 2025-04-22 Annie Palmer

Context & Ripple Effects

The suit follows an earlier FTC investigation into Uber One’s enrollment and cancellation flow, turning a regulatory inquiry into a direct challenge to how the service acquires and retains members.

It also fits a broader enforcement pattern: the FTC previously alleged that Amazon used dark patterns around Prime enrollment and cancellation, while Uber has faced other consumer-facing claims, including Australian allegations over fare estimates and cancellation fees.

First-order effects

Uber must defend its Uber One enrollment, billing and cancellation practices against FTC allegations, placing the subscription service’s customer-consent claims under immediate legal scrutiny.
Uber One members are the directly affected customer group because the case centers on alleged charges without consent, difficult cancellation, and unfulfilled savings promises.

Second-order effects

The lawsuit raises the compliance stakes for consumer subscriptions that depend on friction-heavy cancellation or ambiguous enrollment, particularly where recurring fees are tied to platform services.
The case gives the FTC another vehicle to test its approach to alleged subscription dark patterns after its Prime enrollment and cancellation lawsuit, potentially encouraging closer review of similar flows at other platforms.

Third-order effects

If enforcement produces meaningful remedies or changes to Uber One, subscription growth strategies may shift toward clearer consent, more auditable savings claims, and simpler exits rather than retention by interface friction.
The longer-term question is whether regulators can establish consistent standards for subscription design across digital services; this case adds to that institutional test but does not settle it.

The trend: Consumer-subscription accountability is moving from scrutiny of individual interface choices toward legal tests of whether enrollment, billing, and cancellation systems are fair by design.

Discussion

@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on bluesky
The FTC is suing Uber over its Uber One subscription service for deceptively enrolling people into the service and being “extremely difficult” to cancel. — Given various stories over the past few weeks, antitrust enforcement against big tech isn't slowing down in the Trump 2.0 …
@hunterwalk.com @hunterwalk.com on bluesky
“Uber and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi each reportedly donated $1 million to President Trump's inaugural fund, joining a lengthy roster of tech companies and executives attempting to cozy up to the incoming administration.” [embedded post]
@jason @jason on x
I found my @uber one setting instantly and I've saved a fortune using it it's the best deal in the world! Super easy to “end membership” and right there in the help menu if you're confused 🤷‍♀️ [image]
@mikulaja Jason Mikula on x
FTC files suit against Uber for allegedly falsely saying users can cancel at any time with no additional fee, charging users w/o express informed consent; violating ROSCA. No mention of “dark patterns,” so I guess that term left office with the Biden admin... [image]
@ttp_updates @ttp_updates on x
Notably, two lawyers representing Uber are former FTC chair Tim Muris and former commissioner Christine Wilson. This revolving door activity would be shocking, if it wasn't so common. A 2019 @Public_Citizen study found *over 3/4* top FTC officials had revolving door conflicts. [i…
@afergusonftc Andrew Ferguson on x
Companies need to compete fairly in the market based on their product quality and customer service, not by deceiving consumers. The Trump-Vance FTC will not tolerate this kind of behavior. If the allegations in this complaint are borne out, we will hold Uber accountable.
@afergusonftc Andrew Ferguson on x
Today, the @FTC filed a lawsuit against Uber, alleging that the company made deceptive claims, billed people without their consent, and made it unreasonably difficult to cancel subscriptions.
@loudmouthjulia Julia Alexander on x
I suspect we'll see more of this as different states struggle with implementing easy-to-cancel rules. California did it — the rule will go into effect this July — and everyone else should follow suit. But if not, I imagine we'll see more of these cases.
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
Good stuff from the Federal Trade Commission against Uber. Former Republican FTC commissioner Christine Wilson, who now works for Kamala Harris's brother-in-law and Uber chief counsel Tony West, is very upset. So is Bush FTC Chair Tim Muris. So clubby. https://techcrunch.com/...
@alex @alex on x
damn, lina khan still got it https://www.ftc.gov/... [image]
@benbrodydc Ben Brody on x
It doesn't say it but sure looks like a click-to-cancel issue, no?
@ftc @ftc on x
FTC takes action against Uber for deceptive billing and cancellation practices: https://www.ftc.gov/... /1
@natlungfy Natalie Lung on x
Uber denies FTC's claims, saying cancellation now takes <= 20s. Spokesman: Disappointed that FTC chose to move forward with this action; confident courts will agree that Uber One's sign-up & cancellation processes are clear, simple, and follow the letter and spirit of the law
@natlungfy Natalie Lung on x
FTC describes a customer getting stuck in a loop in the Uber app when they tried to cancel Uber One within 48 hours of an upcoming billing date. They also say the switching colors and description of labels make it unclear for users who want to cancel. [image]
@rakeshsfnyc Rakesh Agrawal on x
Hey look! They're doing enforcement and trying to penalize bad behavior. The “savings” without subtracting out the cost of the monthly membership has always been a crock for a product like this.
r/technology r on reddit
FTC sues Uber, says company charged for Uber One without consent

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