The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Amazon on Wednesday for making it difficult for its customers to sign up for its Prime program without their consent and then cancel their said subscription.
“Amazon tricked people into signing up without their consent“In addition to frustrating users, it costs them a lot of money,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in a statement.
According to the communication, the online shopping technology company uses a technique known as “Dark pattern” or dark patterns Design tricks employed by digital service providers to trick customers into making unintended purchases – to trick consumers into signing up for Prime subscriptions, which cost $14.99 (13.68 euros) per month and are automatically renewed.
“During Amazon’s online checkout, customers are faced with multiple opportunities to sign up for Amazon Prime. In many cases, Option to buy products on Amazon without subscribing to Prime It was very difficult for consumers to find out. “In some cases, the button provided to customers to complete their transaction did not clearly indicate that by selecting that option they were also agreeing to join Prime,” the FTC said today.
The company also asserts that Amazon “knowingly complicated the cancellation process for Prime subscribers who wanted to cancel their memberships.”
“The main purpose of your Prime cancellation process “Not to allow subscribers to cancel (their contract), but to prevent it,” the FTC added.
This isn’t the FTC’s first fight against shady bosses, as last December Epic Games had to pay $520 million to settle similar lawsuits.
This isn’t the FTC’s first run-in with Amazon. Last month, the commission reached a $5.8 million settlement with the U.S. company after employees of Ring – the video surveillance system – were accused of spying on customers through their devices.
