I think a federal consumer protection law here would be good - something along the lines that it needs to be possible to cancel an account using the same commun

I think a federal consumer protection law here would be good - something along the lines that it needs to be possible to cancel an account using the same communications method you used to create the account. If you made an account with a web form, you can cancel with a web form. If you had to call to set it up, its reasonable to have to call to un-set it up. But you should never need to call when you've set it up over the web (except in exceptional circumstances). Some areas have something along these lines, but not many in the grand scheme of things. Also maybe something about notifications of pending recurring charges. Those two tactics are pure slime from my perspective.