FTC sues Amazon over "deceptive" Prime subscription tactics

[midian182]

In brief: It seems Amazon's tactics of pushing people to sign up for Prime and making unsubscribing from the service an arduous chore doesn't sit well with the FTC, which is why the agency is suing the tech giant for allegedly violating the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act

The Federal Trade Commission said in its complaint that Amazon knowingly tricks people into signing up for Prime through the use of "Dark Patterns." While that might sound like some unholy shenanigans on the company's part, it actually refers to the number of options at the checkout suggesting people sign up for automatically renewing Prime subscriptions. This can make finding the option to simply buy a product difficult.

When someone is signed up to Prime, the complaint alleges that Amazon makes canceling the sub a task involving multiple unnecessary steps, which could cause some people give up before the end. The FTC also claims that Amazon's leaders "slowed or rejected" design changes that would have made it easier for subscribers to cancel the service.

When you reach the fifth page of Amazon asking if you're sure you want to cancel Prime

"Prime subscription fees account for $25 billion of Amazon's annual revenue […] Consequently, one of Amazon's primary business goals – and the primary business goal of Prime – is increasing subscriber numbers," the lawsuit states.

FTC chair Lina Khan says that Amazon "tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money." The agency also claims that Amazon made multiple attempts to "delay and hinder" the investigation.

The FTC has been investigating Amazon Prime's sign-up and cancelation procedures since March 2021, and even wanted CEO Andy Jassy and founder Jeff Bezos to testify on the Prime practices, writes CNBC.

In 2022, internal Amazon documents obtained by Insider showed the company had, since 2017, been concerned that its user interface designs led customers into feeling manipulated into signing up for Prime. They also showed that Amazon intentionally made the process of canceling Prime so long that it become known as Iliad, a reference to Homer's 15,693-line poem.

Amazon spokesperson Heather Layman said in a statement that the FTC's claims are "false on the facts and the law."

"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," Layman added.

Back in March, the FTC proposed a 'Click to Cancel' provision that would require companies to make the process of canceling recurring subscriptions as simple as signing up for them. The proposal was part of an ongoing review of its 1973 Negative Option Rule, which the agency uses to combat unfair or deceptive practices related to subscriptions, memberships, and other recurring-payment programs.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/99160-ftc-sues-amazon-over-deceptive-prime-subscription-tactics.html

 

[andyross]

I don't see why they say it is hard to cancel. I have cancelled (or paused, whatever the difference is) multiple times. You go to Prime Membership under your account, then update your membership or something like that (mine is currently paused, so some entries may be a bit different.) You then are offered pause or cancel, and then a final screen saying all you will lose and to confirm.

You don't need to call in, it's not really hidden. Just try cancelling your cable service....

 

[kira setsu]

I don't see why they say it is hard to cancel. I have cancelled (or paused, whatever the difference is) multiple times. You go to Prime Membership under your account, then update your membership or something like that (mine is currently paused, so some entries may be a bit different.) You then are offered pause or cancel, and then a final screen saying all you will lose and to confirm.

You don't need to call in, it's not really hidden. Just try cancelling your cable service....

I dont understand this either, its simple as pie to cancel or just not sign up, I think its because amazon is so big that theyll go after them, everyone uses amazon, and that many people means a bunch are probably dense as osmium so its rocket science to em.

now siriusxm radio on the other hand! they should be a target! thats some bull***t to cancel, theres no way to do it on the site through your account, and when you do ask their online robot you find out you have to call them, then the person on the call will do their damndest to keep you paying(theyll bump the monthly down to like 7 dollars).

but like I said sirius is small and amazon is massive.

but imho if you cant figure out how to cancel amazon youre a dumdum with probably too much money, cause trust me if youre broke you know how(ive been broke before).

 

[Skully]

For the fun of it I just looked how hard it was (this was only to cancel "Prime", not the complete Amazon membership). While it doesn't exactly jump out at you with a "Click Here", it wasn't difficult to find either.

This was a productive endeavor since I saw I had a subscription to "PBS Masterpiece" that I didn't remember I had and was able to cancel it.

 

[wiyosaya]

I'm not understanding this either, but perhaps some are DAF. Cancellation is easy. Remove your credit card from your account and when they try to charge for Prime renewal - bang. They could not charge so Prime cancelled.

I do, however, somewhat agree in the sense that every time I go to purchase something from Amazon, I'm pestered with "Signup for Prime" which is automatically selected, however, its easy enough to deselect it. I don't like the everytime pester part. I see it as far from deceptive, but it has inspired me to look elsewhere to avoid the hassle.

I'm constantly on the lookout for crap practices, but I can see that people without a good BS detector would get themselves into something they had no intention of getting into.

 

[PEnnn]

For the fun of it I just looked how hard it was (this was only to cancel "Prime", not the complete Amazon membership). While it doesn't exactly jump out at you with a "Click Here", it wasn't difficult to find either.

This was a productive endeavor since I saw I had a subscription to "PBS Masterpiece" that I didn't remember I had and was able to cancel it.

The FCC suit explicitly said that Amazon hastily changed the cancel procedure and made it easier when they got wind of the suit.

On the other hand, try canceling Facebook (and many other big, US-based companies)!! Good luck with that. I

 

[waclark]

I don't see why they say it is hard to cancel. I have cancelled (or paused, whatever the difference is) multiple times. You go to Prime Membership under your account, then update your membership or something like that (mine is currently paused, so some entries may be a bit different.) You then are offered pause or cancel, and then a final screen saying all you will lose and to confirm.

You don't need to call in, it's not really hidden. Just try cancelling your cable service....

Yes, it's pretty easy. I was in another conversation about this and had to go online to see for myself. Dirt simple.

 

[scavengerspc]

too much money

Not possible!

 

[human7]

It's going to be hard for Amazon to defend itself when they named their cancellation process the Illiad. I suspect we shall have some poetic justice at the end of this. Of course, the courts have been known to have quite the "labyrinthine" procedures and timelines.

If nothing else comes of this, let's hope that Amazon and other websites turn away from some of their dark patterns, if only to prevent future lawsuits.

 

[PEnnn]

Yes, it's pretty easy. I was in another conversation about this and had to go online to see for myself. Dirt simple.

Enough with this nonsense!! It WAS VERY DIFFICULT but Amazon changed it once they heard of the suit!! You saw the easy version....

They called it the Iliad for a reason. Google "Iliad" if you have no idea what I am talking about.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ama...iest-highlights-ftc-prime-lawsuit-2023-6?op=1

 

[MyIOnU]

If that is the case, then FTC should also sue many other corporations for their subscription and cancellation process as well.

 

[waclark]

Enough with this nonsense!! It WAS VERY DIFFICULT but Amazon changed it once they heard of the suit!! You saw the easy version....

They called it the Iliad for a reason. Google "Iliad" if you have no idea what I am talking about.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ama...iest-highlights-ftc-prime-lawsuit-2023-6?op=1

I know what the Iliad is, do you? As far as Amazon goes, I cannot validate your claim that the change, assuming there was a change, coincided with any legal action and neither can you. All I know is that it has never been that difficult to cancel your subscription.

 

[netman]

The tricky cancellation of Prime existed even 10 years ago when I called it quit...!

 

[hwertz]

I have found the cutsey little pre-checked "sign up for free trial" boxes to be something they should change. Cancellation? Agreed, no problem. I haven't signed up but my mom has, she'll sign up for a while order some stuff she wants quickly, then cancel, and has not run into any problems cancelling.

The one I found annoying was CenturyLink -- when I finally went to cancel my landline phone service (I had originally signed up for a few months since it was the only way to be informed when DSL service would come into my area), I found you could do EVERYTHING online *except* cancel. The person on the phone began to give me the run around, but cut it pretty short when I pointed out "You have my permission, look at my call log". "Oh, you've made *zero* calls." and then realized offering a small discount or whatever was not going to keep me signed up.