The US consumer protection agency FTC has sued the online giant Amazon over allegations that it forced customers to pay for the Prime subscription. Over the years, the company has tricked “millions of consumers” into unknowingly signing up for Amazon Prime without their consent, according to the FTC.
The online retail giant used “manipulative, coercive or deceptive” design interfaces to trick customers into signing up for auto-renewing Prime subscriptions.
Amazon also “knowingly” complicated the process of terminating Prime, the US agency said. “The primary purpose of the Prime cancellation process was not to get subscribers to cancel, but to stop them.”
Termination more complicated than registration
The FTC explained that termination takes four websites, six clicks, and 15 options — while registering for Prime only takes one or two clicks. In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in West Coast Washington State, the FTC is demanding that Amazon cease its practices and pay a fine.
FTC chief Lina Khan said Amazon lured people into recurring subscriptions without their consent and kept them there, “which not only frustrated users but cost them a lot of money.” “These manipulative tactics harm both consumers and law-abiding businesses.”
Amazon offers Prime users free package shipping and access to its streaming platforms, among other things.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
