The US regulator is suing Amazon for disguised subscriptions

The US regulator, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), has sued Amazon again. The webshop group is accused of subscribing millions of consumers to a paid subscription service without permission. It will also be difficult for consumers to cancel their subscription later.

It’s about Amazon Prime, which Amazon customers can use for a fee, including faster, free shipping. In the United States, Prime members pay $ 139 a year for this, which is approximately 127 euros, which is a significant part of the online store’s income. The service has more than 200 million members worldwide.

“Amazon deceived people and trapped them into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users, but costing them big money,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement.

In the suit, filed in federal court in Seattle, the FTC alleges that Amazon “used manipulative, coercive, or deceptive interface designs, known as “dark patterns,” to entice consumers to sign up for auto-renewing Prime subscriptions.”

Amazon said in its response that customers absolutely love Prime. The online store states that it is “plain and simple” for customers to “sign up for Prime membership and cancel their membership”. Furthermore, Amazon finds it “disturbing” that the FTC would file a lawsuit “without notifying us.”

It’s not the FTC’s first lawsuit against Amazon. The online store recently agreed to pay $30.8 million to settle two privacy lawsuits. One of the two cases is about Ring’s video doorbell, and the other is about the Alexa smart speaker.