The U.S. government thinks Amazon may have tricked its users into signing up for Prime, Amazon’s $15 per month membership service — and now the case is headed to trial in a Seattle federal court this week.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Amazon two years ago, alleging that Amazon deceived tens of millions of customers into signing up for Prime subscriptions without their consent, and then “knowingly” made the cancellation process difficult. Prime memberships include fast and free shipping, video streaming, and other benefits.
“Amazon used manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically-renewing Prime subscriptions,” the 159-page complaint reads.
According to the lawsuit, “dark patterns” include unfair design tactics to boost subscriptions, such as making the option to purchase an item without Prime more difficult to locate. The FTC also accused Amazon of deliberately creating a “labyrinthine” cancellation process that made it hard for customers to terminate their Prime memberships.
Amazon denies the FTC’s allegations, with Mark Blafkin, an Amazon spokesperson, telling The New York Times that customers choose Prime because of its genuine value.
“Prime, with hundreds of millions of members, is among the highest performing subscription programs of any kind, as measured by renewal rates and customer satisfaction,” Blafkin said in a statement.
The trial will start on Monday with jury selection and move to opening arguments on Tuesday. It will last about a month. The judge will decide on penalties if the jury determines that Amazon is at fault. The FTC has not requested specific monetary damages at the time of writing.
Launched in 2005, Prime has amassed a large user base over the past two decades. The FTC called Prime “the world’s largest subscription program” in the complaint. A third-party analysis from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates that Amazon had 197 million U.S. Prime members as of March, representing a 7% increase from June 2024.
In 2024, Prime subscription fees comprised $44.37 billion of Amazon’s $638 billion annual revenue, or about 7%.
Prime members additionally “spend more” shopping on Amazon when compared to non-Prime customers, contributing to Amazon’s bottom line, per the complaint. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners CEO Michael Levin estimates that Prime members spend twice as much as non-Prime members.
“We can’t stress how important Prime is to Amazon’s retail business,” Levin told The New York Times.
Amazon also faces a separate lawsuit filed by the FTC and 17 states over allegations that it engaged in anticompetitive behavior. One example was asking sellers to use its fulfillment services to obtain optimal positioning of their products on its site. That trial is set to begin in February.
Related: Amazon Prime Day 1 Was the ‘Single Biggest E-Commerce Day So Far This Year,’ According to New Data
The U.S. government thinks Amazon may have tricked its users into signing up for Prime, Amazon’s $15 per month membership service — and now the case is headed to trial in a Seattle federal court this week.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Amazon two years ago, alleging that Amazon deceived tens of millions of customers into signing up for Prime subscriptions without their consent, and then “knowingly” made the cancellation process difficult. Prime memberships include fast and free shipping, video streaming, and other benefits.
“Amazon used manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically-renewing Prime subscriptions,” the 159-page complaint reads.
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