Bloomberg to Pay $500,000 and Offer Refunds in New York Subscription Renewal Settlement

Bloomberg L.P. Agreed to pay $500,000 and offer refunds to eligible customers after New York Attorney General Letitia James said the publisher did not clearly disclose automatic renewals and steep price increases, according to FinanceFeeds. The settlement covers Bloomberg.com consumer subscriptions, not Bloomberg Terminal contracts.

The Renewal Prices and Cancellation Steps Behind the Settlement

The attorney general's office said some customers could sign up for $1.99 a month for three months before the price rose automatically to $39.99 a month. A student annual plan could move from $99 to $415 after graduation. New York's automatic-renewal law allows recurring subscriptions when businesses disclose material terms and obtain consent; the state said Bloomberg did not make the later price and renewal consequences sufficiently clear, did not provide an adequate post-purchase acknowledgment and did not give required advance notice.

The office also cited instances in which annual customers were not refunded despite being told they could cancel at any time. It said Bloomberg's website and chatbot presented customers with questions and options before they could reach cancellation, in some cases requiring several pages. Phone and email cancellation were available, but the office said Bloomberg did not tell subscribers about those routes until 2023.

Bloomberg must pay the state $500,000 in penalties and provide restitution to eligible customers in New York and nationwide. The office said eligible subscribers include those who complained to Bloomberg, the Federal Trade Commission, the Better Business Bureau or the Attorney General's Office, as well as people who canceled after an automatic renewal at a higher price. The settlement requires Bloomberg to revise disclosures, obtain informed affirmative consent, issue acknowledgments containing required terms and provide adequate notice before renewal.

Bloomberg's October Product and Partnership Announcements

On October 28, 2026, Bloomberg introduced BQuant Assistant, a conversational AI coding assistant integrated into BQuant Desktop and Enterprise, according to PR Newswire. On October 22, 2026, DNB Carnegie and Bloomberg announced an expanded collaboration to make DNB Carnegie's equity research models available on the Bloomberg Terminal, giving buy-side investors access to about 500 Nordic company models, Fxnewsgroup reported.

Also on October 22, 2026, Bloomberg announced that its Crypto Exposure Analytics now supports Basel Committee prudential standards for crypto asset exposure classification, PR Newswire reported. On October 29, 2026, Bloomberg announced the 2027 target weights for its Commodity Index, effective January 2027, with Precious Metals rising to 19.49% and Grains falling to 20.61%, the lowest in history, while Brent crude reached a record 8.59% weight.

What the Settlement Requires Next

The settlement requires Bloomberg to change its consumer subscription disclosures, consent process and renewal notices, and to provide restitution to eligible customers. The 2027 Commodity Index target weights take effect in January 2027.