Amazon initially made changes designed to provide greater clarity for customers, but reversed them when they resulted in a fall in customer sign-ups and revenue. Amazon denies the allegations and instead claims the FTC is attempting to establish a new legal theory based on non-relevant or subjective marketing techniques. Private lawsuits have also been filed against the firm, including one from D M Cohen Inc, an investor which alleges that Amazon has made it difficult for users to unsubscribe from Prime.
Amazon is known for encouraging subscription to its prime services wherever possible, and has been accused in the past of promoting these subscriptions without explicit customer consent. According to the FTC, some Amazon users were charged for several months before they realized they were being automatically subscribed to paid content. The company has also been criticized for the obfuscation of subscription terms and conditions displayed at the bottom of the page when users are encouraged to sign up for its services.
Speaking on the issue, US District Judge Dale Kimball said that Amazon’s practice of signing customers up for Prime without their knowledge or permission — or making it hard to cancel a subscription — is potentially deceptive. On Tuesday this week, he ruled that the suit against Amazon should proceed. The FTC is seeking a permanent injunction against Amazon to prevent ecommerce giant from creating harder conditions for customers to unsubscribe and from applying deceptive tactics to obtain customers’ permission.
A 10-day non-jury trial in the case is scheduled for February 2025. The FTC is seeking civil penalties and actions to make it harder for Amazon to carry out similar practices in the future
