On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a suit against Amazon, asserting that it had hoodwinked customers into signing up for its Prime subscription program and intricately designed the cancellation process to make it difficult for them to stop. According to the agency, Amazon had employed "dark patterns" to manipulate customers into joining Prime without their explicit consent.
On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took legal action against Amazon, alleging the premier online merchant had deliberately deceived consumers by forcefully inducing them to sign up to its Prime program, and by constructing "dark patterns" to make it difficult for them to cancel their subscriptions. FTC Chair Lina Khan asserted in a statement that Amazon had "tricked and trapped" customers into paying for memberships that they had not willingly agreed to. In response to these accusations, Amazon spokesperson Heather Layman declared that FTC's claims were factually and legally unfounded. Layman proclaimed that customers are fond of Prime and that Amazon strives to create a clear and simplified way for them both to sign up and cancel their memberships. She expressed her hope that the truth of the case will be revealed in due course.
Shares for the company dropped slightly on Wednesday as tensions escalate between the FTC and Amazon in their investigation of Amazon Prime's sign-up and cancellation processes. This inquiry was launched in March of 2021 and has caused much dispute between the two entities, especially when the FTC requested that CEO Andy Jassy and the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, give testimonies concerning their methods of Prime.
The Prime program, which commenced in 2005, is now utilized by more than 200 million people around the world, granting them access to free shipping and streaming content for the cost of $139 USD yearly.
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission accused Amazon leaders of obstructing certain alterations of the cancelation process which would have been more convenient for customers, as it would have adversely impacted the businesses’ revenue. Additionally, the FTC disputes that Amazon made it arduous for buyers to acquire their items without Prime, as a button directing users to complete their transactions did not explicitly state that they would be signing up for an ongoing Prime membership.
The FTC also noted that the termination process is complex and was formulated to discourage customers from exiting the Prime service, with an internal term called “Iliad” used in reference to the legendary poem about the Trojan War. This is the third case brought by the FTC within the past month that Amazon has had to face, paying the agency more than $30 million to reconcile charges of privacy infringements in their Alexa and Ring units. Amazon disagreed but chose to settle to put the situation to rest.
Commenti