"Amazon has agreed to settle a landmark case over its Prime membership program, according to U.S. regulators, who had alleged the company's web designs manipulated tens of millions of people into paying for subscriptions that were purposefully hard to cancel. The Federal Trade Commission says Amazon, without admitting wrongdoing, has agreed to pay a historic $1 billion in civil penalties to the government and another $1.5 billion in redress payments to affected consumers."
"It accused Amazon of illegally using "manipulative, coercive, or deceptive" designs to get shoppers enrolled in auto-renewing Prime subscriptions, which currently cost $139 a year or $14.99 a month. Regulators also alleged that Amazon purposefully built a convoluted, multi-step cancellation process to discourage people from quitting and repeatedly backtracked on plans to simplify the process as this led to fewer subscribers. Throughout the court battle, Amazon denied breaking any laws."
U.S. regulators alleged Amazon used website designs to manipulate tens of millions of people into enrolling in auto-renewing Prime subscriptions and made cancellation intentionally difficult. Amazon agreed to pay $1 billion in civil penalties and $1.5 billion in redress to affected consumers without admitting wrongdoing as a settlement reached as trial began. Amazon denied legal violations, stating its designs met or exceeded industry standards and that most customers clearly chose Prime for benefits like free two-day shipping. The FTC continues a broader monopoly lawsuit against Amazon with trial expected in early 2027 before Judge John Chun.
Read at www.npr.org
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