In the US due to a Prime subscription

The US consumer protection agency, the FTC, has filed a lawsuit against online giant Amazon, accusing it of forcing customers to pay for a Prime subscription. The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that the company “deceived millions of consumers” into unwittingly signing up for Amazon Prime without their consent.

The online retail giant used “manipulative, coercive, or misleading” design interfaces to get customers to sign up for auto-renewing Prime subscriptions.

The US agency said Amazon also “knowingly” complicated the process of terminating Prime. “The primary goal of the Prime cancellation process was not to allow subscribers to cancel, but to stop them.”

The FTC explained that canceling takes four websites, six clicks, and 15 options — while signing up for Prime only takes one or two clicks. In the suit, filed in federal court in Washington state on the West Coast, the FTC is asking Amazon to cease its practices and pay a fine.

“Draw subscriptions and hold there”

FTC Chair Lina Khan said Amazon lured people into recurring subscriptions without their consent and held them there, “which not only frustrated users but also cost them a lot of money.” “These manipulative tactics harm consumers and law-abiding businesses alike.”

Among other things, Amazon offers Prime users free shipping on packages and access to its streaming platforms.