FTC Accuses Amazon of, Tricking Millions of Consumers , With 'Dark Patterns' .
On June 21, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the online giant of tricking consumers into hard-to-cancel paid subscriptions.
Reuters reports that the FTC alleges that , "Amazon has knowingly duped millions of consumers into unknowingly enrolling in Amazon Prime.".
According to the FTC, Amazon used , "manipulative, coercive or deceptive user-interface designs known as 'dark patterns' to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically renewing Prime subscriptions.".
Prime currently has over 200 million members globally.
An annual Prime membership in the United States generally , costs about $139.
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Following news of the lawsuit, , shares in Amazon were trading down 1%.
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Following news of the lawsuit, , shares in Amazon were trading down 1%.
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Reuters reports that the FTC's investigation into Amazon's sign-up and cancellation processes has been under way since March of 2021.
Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money, Lina Khan, FTC Chair, via Reuters.
According to the FTC lawsuit, consumers looking to cancel their Prime memberships were faced with a multi-step process.
The lawsuit cites media reporting that said Amazon referred to the process as "Iliad," a reference to Homer's epic poem.
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The lawsuit cites media reporting that said Amazon referred to the process as "Iliad," a reference to Homer's epic poem.
