‘DARK PATTERNS’

FTC Sues Amazon for Tricking ‘Millions’ Into Enrolling in Prime

Amazon used “manipulative, coercive, or deceptive” practices, the suit claims.

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Amazon Wednesday, alleging the online retail giant used “manipulative, coercive, or deceptive” practices to trick consumers into signing up for Prime. “Amazon has knowingly duped millions of consumers into unknowingly enrolling in Amazon Prime,” the FTC claimed in its suit, adding that the company used tricky interface designs “known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically-renewing Prime subscriptions.” Once consumers signed up, Amazon intentionally made it difficult for them to cancel their subscriptions, the FTC said. “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 Khan. But Amazon claimed those allegations are inaccurate. “The truth is that customers love Prime, and by design we make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up for or cancel their Prime membership,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement.