Federal regulators say Amazon has settled their lawsuit over whether its web designs have manipulated millions of people into paying for Prime subscriptions that were purposefully hard to cancel.
Amazon has agreed to settle a landmark case over its Prime membership program, according to U.S. regulators, who had alleged the company's web designs manipulated tens of millions of people into paying for subscriptions that were purposefully hard to cancel.
The Federal Trade Commission says Amazon, without admitting wrongdoing, has agreed to pay a historic $1 billion in civil penalties to the government and another $1.5 billion in redress payments to affected consumers.in Amazon's hometown of Seattle. Somewhat unusually for a dense antitrust case, a jury was slated to determine whether Amazon broke the law.. It accused Amazon of illegally using"manipulative, coercive, or deceptive" designs to get shoppers enrolled in auto-renewing Prime subscriptions, which currently cost $139 a year or $14.99 a month. Regulators also alleged that Amazon purposefully built a convoluted, multi-step cancellation process to discourage people from quitting — and repeatedly backtracked on plans to simplify the process as this led to fewer subscribers. Throughout the court battle, Amazon denied breaking any laws. It argued its designs and disclosures followed or even surpassed widely used industry standards. The company said its processes were clear to the vast majority of Amazon customers, who chose Prime for benefits such as free two-day shipping.as"wrong on the facts and on the law." That trial is expected in early 2027, in front of the same judge, John Chun of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.Alina Selyukh is a business correspondent at NPR, where she follows the path of the retail and tech industries, tracking how America's biggest companies are influencing the way we spend our time, money, and energy.Why It Matters: What to expect when San Diego votes on raising water ratesKPBS keeps you informed with local stories you need to know about — with no paywall. Our news is free for everyone because people like you help fund it.Border & Immigration
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