Security News > 2021 > October > UK competition watchdog unveils principles to make a kinder antivirus business

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has unveiled compliance principles to curb locally some of the sharper auto-renewal practices of antivirus software firms.

The CMA took exception to auto-renewal contracts for antivirus software that customers in the UK signed up for and found difficult to cancel.

Today's principles build on that work, and are aimed at helping antivirus companies toe the line where UK consumer law is concerned.

Getting a refund must be easier and customers should be able to change their mind when auto-renewal happens.

If the customer has stopped using the product, safeguards are needed around auto-renewal.

The last principle could pose a few challenges - how does a vendor become aware that a customer is not using its product? The suggestion from the CMA is to check if software updates are being received rather than simply charging users year after year.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/10/19/cma_antivirus/