Ofcom fines Virgin Media record £28 million for blocking consumer cancellations

The record fine signals an aggressive shift in regulatory intolerance for friction-by-design tactics used to artificially lower churn. For the streaming and broadband sector, this confirms that retention workflows involving 'save' desk loops or deliberate technical barriers now carry significant legal liability. As consumer protection agencies increasingly treat time-wasting as direct consumer harm, platforms must prioritize automated, single-click cancellation paths to avoid the scrutiny facing legacy providers. Watch for the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 to formalize these standards across all digital subscription sectors by Spring 2027.

The £28 million penalty is part of a broader crackdown by Ofcom, which previously fined Virgin Media £23.8 million in December 2025 for failing to protect vulnerable customers during digital landline migrations, per The Guardian. This latest action comes as the UK moves toward more structured switching processes. The regulator's 'One Touch Switch' initiative, launched in September 2024, has already facilitated over 2 million broadband and landline transfers by allowing customers to switch by contacting only their new provider, according to Ofcom data from February 2026.

While the UK is tightening its subscription regime, US efforts have faced significant legal setbacks. In July 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the Federal Trade Commission’s 'click-to-cancel' rule, citing procedural deficiencies in the rulemaking process, per reporting from Dickinson Wright. The rule would have mandated that cancelling a subscription be as easy as signing up. Following this ruling and the subsequent wind-down of the 'Time is Money' initiative, the FTC launched a revised rulemaking process in March 2026, though a finalized federal standard remains distant.

In the absence of a federal 'click-to-cancel' mandate, individual US states are filling the gap. Approximately 30 jurisdictions, including California and New York, maintain their own strict automatic-renewal laws that require clear disclosure and simple online cancellation mechanisms. In the UK, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 aims to address these issues holistically. Per White & Case in April 2026, the government confirmed that the new regime will mandate 14-day 'renewal' cooling-off periods and straightforward exit rights, with non-compliance carrying fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover.