Amazon is paying $2.5 billion to settle FTC claims it duped customers into signing up for Prime

Amazon will pay a record civil penalty to settle a case with the Federal Trade Commission. The agency accused Amazon of tricking consumers into signing up for a Prime membership without their consent (and making it hard for customers to cancel) in a lawsuit filed in 2023.

To settle the charges, Amazon has agreed to pay a $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion to refund customers. The company also agreed to "ease unlawful enrollment and cancellation practices for Prime," per the FTC.

The agency says the civil penalty is the largest ever for a case involving a breach of its rules — it had accused Amazon of violating the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act. The $1.5 billion in consumer redress will provide "full relief for the estimated 35 million consumers impacted by unwanted Prime enrollment or deferred cancellation," the FTC said. It ...