FTC SUES AMAZON OVER ALLEGED DECEPTIVE PRIME PRACTICES

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has filed a sweeping lawsuit against Amazon, alleging the e-commerce giant used deceptive tactics to push customers into subscribing to Amazon Prime and then erected barriers to prevent them from canceling. The case, filed in federal court, marks one of the most aggressive regulatory challenges yet to Amazon's dominance and underscores Washington's growing efforts to rein in Big Tech.

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THE CORE OF THE CASE

According to the FTC, Amazon relied on “dark patterns”—subtle design tricks in its online checkout process—to steer consumers into Prime memberships without their fully informed consent. Customers shopping for everyday items were allegedly presented with screens that emphasized the benefits of Prime while obscuring the costs or downplaying that they were signing up for a recurring subscription.

Regulators claim Amazon also made cancellation intentionally complex. Consumers who tried to opt out had to navigate through multiple confirmation screens, sometimes encountering repeated prompts that urged them to reconsider. The FTC called the practice “a deliberate labyrinth” designed to frustrate users into giving up before successfully canceling.

FTC Chair Lina Khan, who has long studied Amazon's market influence, said the practices were both unfair and unlawful. “Amazon tricked and trapped people into Prime subscriptions they didn’t want and then set up roadblocks to stop them from leaving,” she said in a statement.

AMAZON PUSHES BACK

Amazon strongly denied the allegations, insisting that customers clearly understand Prime's value and that sign-ups are voluntary. “The truth is that customers love Prime, and by design the sign-up and cancellation process is clear and easy,” the company said.