The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2025
Amazon told Prime Video customers ads were coming — the court said that email misled
In 2024 Amazon emailed Prime members: ads come in February, pay €2.99 to stay ad-free. Munich's court: the email misled — the switch needed consent.
Amazon · 2025-12-17
What happened
In early 2024 Amazon emailed its German Prime members: limited advertising would start on Prime Video that February, and anyone who wanted to keep watching without ads could pay an additional €2.99 a month. The message was framed as a notification — something that was happening, with an opt-out for sale. Germany's Federation of Consumer Organisations (vzbv) sued.
On 17 December 2025 the Munich Regional Court I (33rd Civil Chamber, case 33 O 3266/24) ruled the email misleading: it suggested Amazon was entitled to change the contract unilaterally, when neither Amazon's terms of use nor statutory law permitted that. An ad-free experience had been a core part of the original contract — introducing ads into it required consent, not an announcement.
The court prohibited Amazon from unilaterally changing Prime Video's contract terms to introduce advertising, and ordered the company to send a correction letter to affected customers setting the record straight. The judgment was not yet binding in December 2025; Amazon disagreed with the ruling and said it would review whether to appeal.
Why it happened
- The framing was the deception: the email announced a unilateral change as if Amazon had the right to make it, when the change needed consent or a new contract.
- Ad-free was the bargain's core: a streaming subscription sold without ads cannot have ads inserted mid-contract through terms of use, the court held.
- The remedy matched the harm: the court did not stop at banning the practice — Amazon must write to affected customers and correct the misleading impression.
The lesson
You can't email your way into a contract change: announcing ads as a fait accompli misled customers — when ad-free was the deal, the switch needed consent, not notice.
Aftermath
The judgment of 17 December 2025 was not yet legally binding; Amazon said it disagreed and would review an appeal. Ads on Prime Video in Germany had been running since February 2024; the ruling targeted the way the change was introduced, not the ads themselves.
Sources
- Zeit: Amazon darf Kunden auf Prime Video nicht zu Werbung zwingen (17 December 2025)
- Stern: Amazon Prime Video unterliegt vor Gericht wegen Werbung (19 December 2025)
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