Amazon Sued For Tricking Customers Into Signing up For Prime

The Federal Trade Commission is suing Amazon for deceiving customers into subscribing to Amazon Prime without consent.

Amazon Sued By The FTC

As reported by The Verge, a complaint from the FTC has accused Amazon of deceiving millions of customers into subscribing to Amazon Prime by using “dark patterns.” The claim focuses on the checkout process and claims that where Amazon presents several options to subscribe to Prime, it makes it difficult to find the option to complete the purchase without Prime. The claim also argues that Amazon made it difficult to unsubscribe from Prime with the inclusion of several unnecessary steps to unsubscribe.

In a statement, FTC Chair Lina Khan said “Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money, These manipulative tactics harm consumers and law-abiding businesses alike.”

On the other side, an Amazon Spokesperson Heather Layman claimed that Amazon makes “it clear and simple for customers to both sign up for or cancel their Prime membership” and complains that the FTC did not notify the company before announcing the lawsuit.

Currently, most of the details surrounding the case are redacted and more information will come out once a verdict is reached.

A Debatable Case

Personally I haven’t noticed any of these tactics that are being claimed, I see the Amazon Prime options at checkout but they only appear alongside delivery options and I don’t see them as being forced or intrusive. The process to unsubscribe is definitely long-winded but what subscription service isn’t? I’m not defending Amazon as I love to see a giant corporation lose money but the complaint seems a little stretched. Of course, being tech-literate may have an effect on my perspective as the FTC could be talking from the perspective of the average person plus Amazon US may have differences from Amazon UK.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.