The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the company of making it exceptionally challenging to cancel a Prime subscription.
The subscription service, priced at $14.99 or £8.99 per month, is alleged to have used deceptive tactics to keep users subscribed for as long as possible, a practice condemned by the FTC and other regulatory bodies.
The FTC’s complaint, filed with the US District Court for the Western District of Washington, asserts that this practice was “well known within Amazon.”
The complaint alleges: “For years, Defendant Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”) has knowingly deceived millions of consumers into enrolling in its Amazon Prime service (“Nonconsensual Enrollees” or “Nonconsensual Enrollment”).
Specifically, Amazon utilized manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into subscribing to automatically-renewing Prime memberships.”
The complaint further outlines that Amazon intentionally misled customers to make canceling Prime difficult, acknowledging that this method was “legally indefensible,” which led the company to code-name the process “Iliad.”
In April 2023, Amazon updated its cancellation process, which now appears more user-friendly compared to the previous “Iliad Flow.”
“Iliad Flow” refers to the complex series of steps allegedly required to cancel a subscription, which the FTC describes as “labyrinthine.”
Amazon’s leadership reportedly resisted efforts to simplify this process. If users did not go through this intricate procedure, their only alternative was to contact customer service.
Before this investigation, canceling a Prime subscription involved a “four-page, six-click, fifteen-option cancellation process.”
Clicking on the “end subscription” button, which one would expect to lead directly to cancellation, actually redirected users to a separate process intended to prevent cancellation.
The FTC is now pursuing civil penalties, monetary fines, and a permanent injunction against Amazon, asserting that the company violated US law.
Additionally, Amazon is accused of deliberately obstructing the investigation by failing to provide the necessary documents promptly.
