The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday announced a $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon just days into a trial over the tech giant’s alleged use of deceptive practices that the commission said for years tricked millions of consumers into signing up for a Prime membership without their knowledge, and made it unreasonably difficult for them to cancel the service.
But the most exuberant celebrations Thursday may be occurring within the executive suites at Amazon’s D.C. and Seattle headquarters.
And for good reason.
The case, first filed by the FTC in 2023 under then-Chair Lina Khan, outlined a variety of ways that Amazon utilized misleading web design tactics, known as “dark patterns,” to get online shoppers to unknowingly enroll in its Prime program when making a purchase, or make it frustratingly difficult for someone to cancel a Prime membership (which cost $139 a year when the case was filed). The FTC cited a “four-page, six-click, fifteen-option cancellation process”—referred to internally by Amazon insiders as “Iliad”—that the agency said distracted or derailed customers on their way to cancel the membership.
It was a bad look for Amazon, and given that the case was aimed directly at one of Amazon’s most important products, the stakes were high.
