Amazon on Thursday agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that it deceived tens of millions of consumers into enrolling in its Prime membership program and then made cancellation difficult. The settlement represents one of the largest in FTC history.
“Amazon and our executives have always followed the law and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers,” Amazon spokesperson Mark Blafkin told Fortune. “We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership, and to offer substantial value for our many millions of loyal Prime members around the world. We will continue to do so, and look forward to what we’ll deliver for Prime members in the coming years.”
The agreement was reached just days into a jury trial that began this week in Seattle, stemming from a lawsuit the FTC filed in 2023, under then-chair Lina Khan. The case challenged Amazon’s subscription practices for Prime, which currently costs $139 annually or $14.99 monthly. Under the settlement terms, Amazon will pay a $1 billion civil penalty to the government and provide $1.5 billion in refunds to approximately 35 million affected customers. Eligible consumers could receive up to $51 each.
