FTC Alleges Amazon “Tricked and Trapped” Customers into Prime Subscriptions

The Federal Trade Commission filed a suit against Amazon, alleging the online retailer “tricked and trapped” consumers into enrolling in Amazon Prime without their consent and used so-called dark patterns to make it difficult for them to cancel subscriptions.

The lawsuit claims Amazon “sabotaged” consumers’ attempts to cancel Prime subscriptions and tricked them into automatically renewing the service. According to the FTC, Amazon executives made a conscious choice to create these problems and ignored potential fixes that would help consumers.

“These manipulative tactics harm consumers and law-abiding businesses alike. The FTC will continue to vigorously protect Americans from ‘dark patterns’ and other unfair or deceptive practices in digital markets,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan.

Throughout the checkout process, customers are presented with numerous options to sign up for a recurring Prime subscription. According to the FTC, Amazon even used a purchase button that immediately initiated a subscription without properly informing customers.

The FTC had been investigating sign-up and cancellation processes for Amazon’s Prime program since March 2021.

The FTC negotiated a $5.8 million settlement with Amazon last month on charges that Ring workers spied on customers using their devices. The Wall Street Journal reported in February that the commission was planning an antitrust suit against the e-commerce behemoth.