Source: in-cyprus.philenews.com
Amazon.com will pay $2.5 billion in fines and redress to Prime subscribers to settle a Federal Trade Commission case alleging the company enrolled users in subscriptions without consent and made cancellation difficult, the FTC said on Thursday.
The settlement includes $1.5 billion for a fund to repay eligible Prime subscribers, with Amazon not admitting wrongdoing. Amazon shares remained nearly unchanged following the announcement, and the company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Amazon must now make Prime cancellation easy as part of the settlement terms.
FTC accused Amazon of duping tens of millions of customers
At a trial in Seattle federal court, the FTC accused Amazon of deceiving tens of millions of Prime customers by enrolling them without consent and trapping them with overly complex cancellation methods.
The FTC began investigating Amazon’s subscription practices during President Donald Trump’s first administration, with the case filed during Joe Biden’s presidency.
The settlement represents the second-largest restitution amount in FTC history, agency officials said, marking a significant victory for the commission’s technology enforcement agenda that began during the first Trump administration.
Settlement addresses subscription enrollment and cancellation practices
The case centred on allegations that Amazon employed deceptive practices in Prime subscription enrollment and created barriers to cancellation that violated consumer protection laws.
Under the settlement terms, Amazon must implement simplified cancellation procedures for Prime memberships whilst establishing the $1.5 billion restitution fund for affected subscribers.
(information from Reuters)