The United States has filed a lawsuit accusing Amazon of employing deceptive tactics to enroll customers in automatically renewing Prime subscriptions and making it challenging to cancel.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the country’s consumer protection agency, alleged that Amazon utilized website designs that were “manipulative” in pushing customers to agree to Prime enrollment with automatic renewals while making purchases.
The FTC claimed that Amazon made it intentionally difficult for users to opt out of auto-enrollment because such changes would have a negative impact on the company’s profitability. According to the complaint filed in federal court in Seattle, Amazon subjected customers seeking to cancel their subscriptions to a laborious process involving four pages, six clicks, and fifteen options, which internally was referred to as “Iliad” in reference to the lengthy Trojan War epic.
While Amazon did modify the cancellation process shortly before the lawsuit was filed, the FTC contended that the company’s actions violated laws aimed at safeguarding consumers. FTC Chair Lina Khan stated that Amazon had tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, resulting in frustration and significant financial losses for users.
The FTC is seeking a court order to compel Amazon to alter its practices, along with financial penalties of an unspecified amount.
In response, Amazon refuted the allegations, calling them baseless and stating that customers appreciate the clarity and simplicity of Prime membership sign-up and cancellation processes. The company stated that it had been engaged in discussions with the agency about these issues when the lawsuit was unexpectedly filed.
The FTC has consistently warned online companies against employing “dark patterns” to manipulate consumers. It had been investigating Amazon’s Prime program since 2021 and claimed that the company had attempted to delay the probe multiple times, including by delaying document delivery.
Industry analysts perceive the FTC’s actions as a means of setting an example with Amazon. Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf, a senior analyst at Insider Intelligence, noted that it is common for companies to make it more challenging to cancel an account compared to signing up for one.
