Amazon has signed millions of people up for Prime. The FTC is taking it to court
Amazon is facing allegations that it improperly signed up millions of users to the paid Amazon Prime program and made it harder for them to cancel the premium service. The internet giant is being taken to court by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This was pointed out by CNN.
The commission announced the filing of the lawsuit on its website on Wednesday. Specifically, the FTC is concerned with the procedures for registration and cancellation of subscription service Prime from March 2021. “Amazon deceived people. Without their consent, it trapped them in a spiral of repeat subscriptions, not only frustrating users but also depriving them of significant money,” FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan commented on the lawsuit.
Amazon was supposed to make some changes to its subscription cancellation process in April under intense pressure from the FTC, but according to the regulator, “the violations are still continuing.” The commission announced the filing of the lawsuit on its website on Wednesday. The FTC is specifically addressing the procedures for registering and canceling Prime’s subscription service as of March 2021. “Amazon deceived people. Without their consent, it trapped them in a spiral of repeat subscriptions, not only frustrating users but also depriving them of significant money,” FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan commented on the lawsuit.
Amazon was supposed to make some changes to its subscription cancellation process in April under intense pressure from the FTC, but according to the regulator, “the violations are still continuing.” Through the lawsuit, the regulator is seeking a financial penalty and an injunction to prevent future violations.
Amazon Prime subscribers in the US pay $139 (CZK 3,070) a year for a range of benefits, or $14.99 a month (CZK 330). In return, they get faster and free delivery of orders from Amazon, exclusive member pricing as well as access to streaming video and music platforms. Amazon Prime has more than 200 million subscribers. According to the FTC, the US internet giant earns $25 billion a year from this area of its business alone. “Increasing the number of subscribers is one of Amazon’s core business objectives and a major goal of the Prime program,” the commission concluded.
Source, photo: cnn.com
Author of this article
WAS THIS ARTICLE HELPFUL?
Support us to keep up the good work and to provide you even better content. Your donations will be used to help students get access to quality content for free and pay our contributors’ salaries, who work hard to create this website content! Thank you for all your support!
OR CONTINUE READING