Amazon Agrees to Pay $2.5 Billion to Settle Lawsuit Claiming It 'Tricked' Customers to Join Prime

Core Viewpoint - Amazon has agreed to a $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations of misleading practices related to its Prime subscription service, which included making it difficult for users to cancel their subscriptions [1][3]. Group 1: Settlement Details - The settlement includes $1.5 billion allocated to a fund for repaying eligible subscribers and $1 billion as a civil penalty [1]. - Amazon is required to implement a "clear and conspicuous" option for customers to decline Prime during the checkout process and to simplify the cancellation procedure [1][3]. Group 2: Legal Context - The FTC accused Amazon of employing "dark patterns" to manipulate consumers into subscribing to Prime and complicating the cancellation process, which violated Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act [3][4]. - The trial was set to begin but concluded with this settlement, marking one of the largest consumer protection settlements in U.S. history [4]. Group 3: Company Response - Amazon maintains that it has always complied with the law and views the settlement as a means to move forward and focus on customer innovation [2]. - The company emphasizes its efforts to make the sign-up and cancellation processes clear and simple for customers [2].