US judge rejects FTC lawsuit over Amazon’s Prime program By Reuters
David Shepherdson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. judge in Seattle on Tuesday asked Amazon.com (NASDAQ:) to dismiss a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit accusing the company of signing up millions of consumers for its paid Amazon Prime service without their consent. (NASDAQ:)’s motion was denied.
Amazon lawyers urged U.S. District Judge John Chun to reject the FTC’s claims. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit, filed with the FTC in June 2023, accused the retailer of deceptive practices. Amazon has made cancellations difficult, claiming that some consumers signed up for Prime by mistake and that some consumers knew they were being billed for months before canceling their memberships.
Amazon urged Chun to dismiss the FTC lawsuit, arguing that the company “conspicuously and repeatedly” disclosed key terms, including pricing and automatic renewals, to Prime customers. Amazon also accused the FTC of trying to punish the company over “undefined concepts” such as “manipulative” website design.
The FTC said Amazon used manipulative, coercive or deceptive user interface designs known as “dark patterns” to trick consumers into automatically renewing their Prime subscriptions and sought civil penalties and a permanent injunction to prevent future violations. Yes.
The lawsuit is part of the Biden administration’s ongoing regulatory and enforcement pressure on big tech companies.
In a separate lawsuit last September, the FTC accused Amazon of violating U.S. antitrust laws in its business practices that restrict sellers from offering lower prices than Amazon. This case is also pending in Jeon’s Seattle court and is scheduled to go to trial in October 2026.
The FTC’s Prime lawsuit says Amazon changed its cancellation procedures in April, before the lawsuit was filed, under “substantial pressure” from the FTC. “Amazon still requires consumers five clicks on desktop and six clicks on mobile to cancel from Amazon.com,” the complaint reads.
A 10-day non-jury trial in the case is scheduled for February 2025.
