FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime enrollment practices
Christopher Hutton
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The Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon, alleging that the online retail giant had deceived millions of consumers into signing up for its premium Prime program and limiting their ability to cancel.
The regulatory agency claimed in a suit filed in the Western District of Washington on Wednesday that Amazon had violated the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act by using intentional design decisions to deceive and complicate users’ ability to end their Prime subscriptions.
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“Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money,” FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan said in a statement.
The FTC had been investigating Amazon since March 2021 over its handling of Prime memberships.
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Amazon has pushed back on the FTC’s investigations into its practices. It alleged in August that the agency had been “harassing” Amazon executives. The company has been under investigation since 2019, when the department was led by Republican Chairman Joseph Simons.
Khan, considered a leader in the “hipster antitrust” movement that seeks to place new scrutiny on large businesses, has been a vocal critic of Amazon over the years and has expressed a desire to break it up. Amazon previously requested Khan be recused from all suits involving them due to her work criticizing the company in academia.