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Amazon faces federal trial in USA over alleged “dark patterns” in Prime Membership
FTC claims Amazon misled tens of millions into Prime subscriptions and made cancellations difficult, while the e-commerce giant defends its popular service as fair and valuable.
“Amazon was aware for years that it was taking consumers' money without their consent, yet chose to do nothing about it,” the FTC stated in a recent court filing.
A federal court trial in Seattle (USA), set to begin this week, will scrutinize how Amazon positions itself as a champion for the hundreds of millions of consumers who use its online shopping platform.
The Federal Trade Commission alleges that, in a lawsuit filed two years ago, Amazon misled tens of millions of people into signing up for its Prime membership program and then made it difficult for them to cancel.
“Amazon was aware for years that it was taking consumers' money without their consent, yet chose to do nothing about it,” the FTC stated in a recent court filing, as per media reports.
Since its launch two decades ago, Prime has grown into what the FTC calls “the world’s largest subscription service.” Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has described it as a “pillar” of the company. The membership costs $139 per year or $14.99 per month and includes fast shipping, video streaming, discounts at Whole Foods, and other perks. “We want Prime to be such a good value, you’d be irresponsible not to be a member,” Bezos wrote in 2016.
Recently, Judge John H. Chun of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled that senior executives Neil Lindsay and Jamil Ghani could be held personally liable if a jury finds Amazon violated the law. Amazon reportedly has maintained that the executives acted appropriately and prioritized customers.
Chun also criticized Amazon for withholding tens of thousands of documents improperly marked as privileged, writing that the company’s actions “appear that the desire to gain a tactical advantage led to such conduct” and were “tantamount to bad faith.”
The trial is expected to last about a month, after which the judge will determine any penalties if Amazon is found in violation. The FTC has not yet requested specific monetary damages.
An estimated 200 million Americans use Prime for online shopping, as per media reports.
The FTC’s case focuses on “dark patterns”- website designs that allegedly steer users into subscriptions they don’t want or make cancellations difficult. Internally, Amazon’s cancellation process was dubbed Iliad, referencing the long Greek epic, as documents reveal. The FTC claims the process “bombards consumers with links, offers and other information to remove them from the cancellation flow.” Amazon defends the process, saying a few extra clicks to cancel are standard practice and that consumers expect such flows.
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