"Amazon and the U.S. government are facing off in a Seattle courtroom over Prime, the company's lucrative subscription service. The government alleges that the company "tricked" people into paying for Prime memberships that were purposefully hard to cancel. The lawsuit marks one of the biggest federal cases pursuing one of the world's largest companies. Somewhat unusually for a dense antitrust case, a jury will determine whether Amazon broke the law."
"The Federal Trade Commission has accused Amazon of violating consumer-protection and competition laws in how it got people to sign up for Prime, the subscription service that costs $139 a year or $14.99 a month. Amazon denies any wrongdoing. In 2021, the company said more than 200 million people worldwide subscribed to Prime. That was the last time it publicly disclosed membership figures. This Prime case is a prelude to the FTC's second and sweeping lawsuit that has accused Amazon of functioning as a monopoly."
Federal regulators have brought a lawsuit alleging Amazon used design techniques to enroll millions in Prime without clear consent and made cancellations difficult. A jury will decide whether Amazon violated consumer-protection and competition laws. Prime costs $139 annually or $14.99 monthly. Amazon denies wrongdoing and last reported over 200 million subscribers in 2021. The case precedes a broader FTC monopoly lawsuit scheduled for early 2027 before Judge John Chun. Regulators cite 'dark patterns' such as prominent free-shipping buttons and hidden opt-outs to show manipulative enrollment practices. Oral arguments are expected to begin on Tuesday in a trial slated to last nearly a month.
Read at www.npr.org
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