FTC sues Amazon for 'tricking and trapping' people in Prime subscriptions

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/21/ [login to see] /ftc-sues-amazon-over-prime
Federal regulators have sued Amazon, alleging the company for years "tricked" people into buying Prime memberships that were purposefully hard to cancel.

The Federal Trade Commission, in a legal complaint filed on Wednesday, says Amazon illegally used "manipulative, coercive, or deceptive" designs to enroll shoppers into auto-renewing Prime subscriptions. Regulators also accuse Amazon of purposefully building a convoluted, multi-step cancellation process to discourage people from quitting.

"Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money," FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement.

The Prime membership costs $139 a year or $14.99 a month, with perks including access to faster two-day shipping and video streaming. Prime subscribers tend to spend more on Amazon than other shoppers, and according to the FTC, Prime membership fees account for $25 billion of Amazon's annual revenue.