The US consumer protection agency FTC has sued online giant Amazon, accusing it of forcing customers to subscribe to Prime. The FTC said Wednesday that the company “deceived millions of consumers” into unwittingly signing up for Amazon Prime without their permission.
The online retail giant used “manipulative, persuasive or misleading” design interfaces to sign up customers for auto-renewing Prime subscriptions.
Amazon has “knowingly” complicated the process of shutting down Prime, the US company said. “The primary goal of the cancellation process is not to allow subscribers to cancel, but to stop them.”
The FTC explained that it takes four websites, six clicks, and 15 choices — as opposed to just one or two clicks when signing up for Prime. In a lawsuit filed in federal court on the west coast of Washington state, the FTC is demanding that Amazon cease its practices and pay fines.
“Attracted to subscriptions and conducted there”
FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan said Amazon lured people into recurring subscriptions without their consent and kept them there, “which not only frustrated users, but also cost them a lot of money.” “These manipulative tactics hurt consumers and law-abiding businesses alike.”
Among other things, Amazon offers Prime users free packages and access to its streaming sites.
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