United States of America: Federal Trade Commission entered into settlement order with Instacart requiring payment of USD 60 million over deceptive practices pertaining to subscription membership services

On 18 December 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered into a stipulated order with Maplebear (Instacart), requiring the company to pay USD 60 million for consumer redress, resolving allegations of deceptive and unfair practices under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act. The order applies to Instacart's grocery delivery and subscription membership services, which are marketed to consumers in the United States. The company is also prohibited from misrepresenting delivery costs, transaction fees, and total amounts to be paid by customers, making misleading claims about free or discounted delivery without clearly disclosing additional fees, and misrepresenting satisfaction guarantee and refund policy terms. For services with negative option features, including automatic subscription renewals, Instacart is also required to clearly disclose all material terms before obtaining billing information, including that consumers will be charged, deadlines to prevent charges, and charge amounts and frequency. The company must also obtain consumers' express informed consent before charging them and provide information about cancellation processes and available remedies. Instacart is also required to maintain detailed records for five years, including accounting records, consumer complaints, refund requests, and documentation of negative option enrolment processes, and submit annual compliance reports to the FTC.