DAPA Images, sk de sansak@design, Europa Press Official, U.S. Takes Drastic Measure Against Amazon: Affects Millions of Customers
The FTC Accuses Amazon of Deceiving Its Users and Complicating the Prime Subscription Cancellation Process
Amazon, the e-commerce giant, is under fire in the United States. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has accused it of pressuring its users to subscribe to its Prime service, thus making the cancellation process so complicated that many customers find themselves trapped in automatic renewals without their consent.
This confrontation has significant implications for the millions of Amazon users, especially for customers in the United States, where subscribing to Prime has become almost a norm.
The FTC Sues Amazon for Its Business Practices
The conflict began when the FTC filed a lawsuit in 2023 in a federal court in the State of Washington. The lawsuit claims that Amazon has used deceptive design tactics to subscribe millions of people to Amazon Prime without their full consent.
According to the FTC, Amazon has intentionally made the cancellation process of its subscriptions difficult, a fact that has caused frustration among users and cost them a lot of money.
The FTC has also highlighted that the option to purchase products without subscribing to Prime was difficult to locate, something that forced users to sign up for the service if they wanted to complete their purchase.
Amazon's Tactic That Infuriates Consumers
Amazon has been accused of employing a technique known as "dark pattern," commonly used in interface design to deceive users and make them make unintended purchases. In many cases, consumers have encountered manipulative buttons or interfaces that force them to accept the Prime subscription without being fully aware of it. Even the button to complete the purchase did not always indicate that, by pressing it, the user would also be accepting the Prime membership.
The FTC has described this process as a "maze" that leads users to accept a subscription without clear consent. The organization claims that these confusing options create an intentional barrier that prevents many customers from canceling their subscription in time.
Despite the popularity of this service, the business practices surrounding Prime have caused growing concern. The FTC has pointed out that Amazon has leveraged its market power to make its users subscribe and remain in Prime, even if they were not fully informed or did not want the subscription.
It is worth remembering that Amazon Prime is one of Amazon's most popular services, and it offers benefits such as fast and free deliveries, access to Prime Video, and a music platform with millions of songs. In the United States, the membership has an annual cost of 139 dollars.
Consumer Protection Leads the FTC to Clash with Amazon
The lawsuit filed by the FTC alleges that Amazon has violated the 2010 consumer protection law, designed to safeguard shoppers. This law is especially relevant in a digital environment, where consumers face increasingly sophisticated and often deceptive business tactics.
Since the FTC began investigating Amazon's practices in 2021, it has been revealed that the company has more than 167 million customers in the United States subscribed to Prime. However, more recent sources suggest that this figure has surpassed 200M worldwide. The large number of users trapped in the automatic subscription process puts even more pressure on Amazon, which now faces a significant legal challenge.
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