Amazon has been sued by the Federal Trade Commission after it “knowingly duped millions of consumers” into signing up for an Amazon Prime membership and then made it difficult for them cancel the service, according to a press release from the FTC on Wednesday.
The release said that for years, Amazon has used ‘dark patterns’ or user interface manipulations in order to trick users into signing up for its Prime membership and then stopping them from cancelling the membership by making this process complicated.
The FTC also alleged that Amazon delayed or stopped changes that would have made it easier for consumers to cancel their Prime membership.
According to the regulator, it was hard for consumers to shop on the e-commerce site without automatically signing up for the $14.99 per month Prime membership, as opting out of this was made confusing on the platform.
(For top technology news of the day, subscribe to our tech newsletter Today’s Cache)
“Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan, in a statement, calling out ‘dark patterns’ in digital markets.
Amazon’s complicated Prime cancellation process has also come under fire in the European Union. The company agreed to make the process simpler there.
