Amazon paid $2.5B to settle FTC charges it trapped millions in Prime

The FTC sued Amazon in June 2023, alleging the company used 'dark patterns' — manipulative interface designs — to enroll consumers in Prime without their consent and then made cancellation deliberately difficult. The suit cited internal Amazon communications acknowledging a 'shady world' around sign-up practices.

Specific tactics included collecting billing information before disclosing subscription terms, signing users up when they clicked a button reading 'No thanks, I don't want free shipping,' and burying cancellation behind multiple confusing pages. The FTC won partial summary judgment when the court ruled Amazon had broken consumer protection law by revealing Prime's terms only after collecting payment information.

Three days into the September 2025 trial, Amazon settled for $2.5 billion — $1 billion in civil penalties and $1.5 billion in consumer refunds of up to $51 each. The settlement permanently bars Amazon from using confusing sign-up designs and requires clear 'Join Prime' language and visible auto-renewal disclosures. Amazon made no admission of guilt.