FTC: Amazon Prime Uses 'Dark Patterns' to Lure Customers In

Amazon Prime is facing a high-profile legal test in Seattle, where a jury began hearing a case this week that could reshape how the $139-a-year service operates. The Federal Trade Commission claims Amazon lured tens of millions into Prime memberships without their full awareness, then threw up so many hurdles to canceling that customers simply gave up. Internally, Amazon reportedly nicknamed the process the "Iliad," a nod to the famously long Greek epic, per Quartz. The case centers on whether Prime's success is fueled by genuine customer loyalty or by so-called "dark patterns," design strategies that nudge users into signing up or sticking around longer than intended. The trial is expected to last about a month.

• When the FTC first announced its legal action against Amazon Prime in 2023, it said that visitors to Amazon's site would be hit with several options on signing up for Prime, but it would be murkier on how to buy an item without getting that membership, per CBS News. "In some cases, the button for Amazon users to complete their purchase did not clearly indicate that they were also agreeing to enroll in Prime," the outlet notes, citing regulators.

• The FTC also says Amazon required customers to wade through a maze of offers and links just to quit, and even took billing information before making Prime's terms clear, a violation of federal law, a court has ruled.
• Amazon denies any wrongdoing. The company says Prime is popular because it delivers value, pointing to high renewal rates and customer satisfaction scores as proof. Amazon also argues that misunderstandings are inevitable at this scale, but that they're not common. "Evidence that a small percentage of customers misunderstood Prime enrollment or cancellation does not prove that Amazon violated the law," the company said in a trial brief filed last week, per the AP.
• Prime is a revenue powerhouse, pulling in more than $40 billion each year from subscriptions alone. Prime members, who now number around 200 million globally (with most in the US), also spend roughly twice as much as nonmembers, according to independent research.