Amazon pays $2.5B settlement over deceptive Prime subscriptions

Amazon has agreed a $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over deceptive Prime subscriptions, with the agreement requiring Amazon to pay a $1 billion civil penalty and provide $1.5 billion in refunds to harmed consumers, while ceasing unlawful enrollment and cancellation practices for Prime.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the agency alleged that Amazon used manipulative user-interface designs, or “dark patterns,” to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically renewing Prime subscriptions. The FTC claimed millions of people ended up signing up, some without realising they had agreed to recurring charges, and that many abandoned attempts to cancel due to exhausting steps.

Former FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya described Amazon’s cancellation journey as a 4-page, 6-click, 15-option process, comparing it to an Iliad-like ordeal. Customers who enrolled in Prime between 23 June 2019 and 23 June 2025 may be eligible for refunds, with certain caps applying to those who rarely used Prime benefits. The article notes that settlements like this are part of a broader trend of big tech paying for privacy violations, while lawyers collect fees and consumers face ongoing data-sharing concerns.