The tech behemoth Amazon has settled a lawsuit against the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for $2.5 billion.
According to reports, this coincides with allegations that the business deceived consumers into purchasing its Prime membership and made it challenging for them to quit.
The FTC accused the online retailer of employing deceptive designs to trick customers into renewing their Prime subscriptions automatically, which sparked the start of the investigation in 2023.
Additionally, the regulator claimed that Amazon purposefully created obstacles that made the canceling procedure more difficult, despite disregarding internal recommendations to streamline it, as the intricate system resulted in fewer customers choosing to opt out.
Amazon must pay $1 billion in civil fines to the government and $1.5 billion in customer refunds as part of the settlement, which was reached just after a trial began in Seattle.
Depending on how much they used Prime perks, customers who paid for Prime between the middle of 2019 and the middle of 2025 will automatically receive refunds of up to $51.
Others could file claims in order to receive payment.
Additionally, Amazon is not allowed to use deceptive instructions, including buttons that imply that customers do not want free shipping.
The business must now give customers a simpler and more transparent method to terminate their Prime memberships.
The agreement, according to the FTC, is the second-highest reparation sum in the agency’s history and the greatest civil penalty in a case involving a rule violation by the commission.
Despite the compensation, Amazon did not acknowledge any wrongdoing.
The company added that the resolution enables it to concentrate on future improvements for its clients, stating that its sign-up and cancellation procedures have always been transparent and legal.
