United States of America: Filed amended complaint in FTC lawsuit against Amazon for enrolling consumers in Amazon Prime without consent and hindering cancellation attempts (FTC v. Amazon)

On 20 September 2023, the US Federal Trade Commission filed an amended complaint with the Western District of Washington against Amazon Prime for intentionally enrolling consumers into its Amazon Prime program without their consent and knowingly making it difficult for consumers to cancel their subscriptions to Prime. According to the FTC, Amazon used manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs (dark patterns) to trick consumers into enrolling in Prime subscriptions in violation of the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act. Further, the FTC claims that Amazon implemented a cancellation process designed to deter consumers from successfully unsubscribing from Prime. The amended complaint names several senior executives and contains previously redacted information purportedly showing that the company and its executives actively hindered changes that could have reduced nonconsensual enrollment.