Subscription consent separate from one-time purchase

When a one-time purchase and a recurring subscription are combined in the same checkout step without visual or semantic separation, the consumer cannot clearly identify which portion of their agreement is recurring. FTC Negative Option Rule (2025) requires that recurring charge consent be obtained independently of any one-time purchase consent. The FTC Dark Patterns Report (2022) specifically flags pre-checked subscription add-ons in one-time checkout flows as a deceptive enrollment pattern. EU Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU Article 22 prohibits pre-ticked boxes for additional charges of any kind.

Visually and semantically separate one-time and recurring line items in any mixed checkout flow, and add a distinct consent element for the recurring portion. In the checkout summary component:

<section className="one-time-items">
  <h3>One-time purchase</h3>
  <div className="line-item"><span>Plugin License</span><span>$49.00</span></div>
</section>
<hr />
<section className="recurring-items">
  <h3>Recurring subscription</h3>
  <div className="line-item"><span>Pro Plan</span><span>$29.00/month</span></div>
  <p className="text-sm mt-1">Renews automatically each month until cancelled.</p>
  <label className="flex items-start gap-2 mt-2">
    <input type="checkbox" required />
    <span className="text-sm">I agree to the recurring $29/month charge</span>
  </label>
</section>

Never pre-check the subscription add-on. If using Stripe Checkout with mixed mode: 'payment' and subscription items, surface the itemized breakdown before the hosted session redirects.