The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Amazon in federal court last week, accusing the e-commerce giant of unfairly funneling unsuspecting consumers to join its Prime membership service and making it onerous to cancel their subscriptions.
It’s the latest in a series of complaints the agency has lodged against the company.
What ‘manipulative tactics’ does the FTC allege?
The FTC’s 87-page complaint argues Amazon intentionally designed its website’s checkout page to push customers into subscribing for Prime when making a purchase, often without their awareness. The complaint also says that the company engineered a maze-like experience for consumers trying to cancel their Prime subscription.
Peter Gattuso is a Morning Dispatch reporter for The Dispatch, based in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the company in 2024, he interned at The Dispatch, National Review, the Cato Institute, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute. When Peter is not fact-checking, he is probably watching baseball, listening to music on vinyl records, or discussing the Jones Act.
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