F.T.C. accuses Amazon of misleading users into purchasing to Prime
The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Amazon on Wednesday, the FTC’s most aggressive move against the firm to date under the leadership of Lina Khan, accusing it of illegally pressuring customers to subscribe to its Prime membership and then making it difficult for them to abandon it.
The F.T.C. claimed in its lawsuit that Amazon had “duped millions of consumers” into signing up for Prime by employing “manipulative, coercive, or deceptive” website design techniques known as “dark patterns.” Additionally, Amazon “knowingly complicated” the cancellation process with cumbersome steps when customers wished to cancel.
In a statement, Lina Khan claimed that “Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money.”
Amazon argued that the F.T.C.’s “claims are false on the facts and the law” and asserted that “by design, we make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up for or cancel their Prime membership.” While the two sides were still discussing the matter, the corporation claimed that the F.T.C. had secretly filed the action.
Amazon and the F.T.C. recently resolved legal disputes that dated back to Ms. Khan’s time in office. In order to resolve commission allegations that its Alexa home companion devices had improperly gathered children’s data, the corporation agreed to shell out $25 million last month. The business also reached a privacy settlement with the F.T.C. involving its Rings home security division.
The new case is a component of a bigger initiative by regulators to curtail the influence of internet behemoths like Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta. In recent years, the Department of Justice has brought numerous antitrust cases involving Google. In addition to scrutinizing the largest internet firms, European regulators have passed privacy legislation, developed plans to control artificial intelligence, and brought legal action against Google and others.
