Amazon faces off against FTC over ‘deceptive’ Prime program
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Amazon And the Federal Trade Commission is going to a long -awaited hearing on whether the company’s users are trying to pay for first -class memberships.
The case, which was filed by FTC under the direction of Biden in June 2023, claims that Amazon has taken tens of millions of customers to the main subscription program and sabotaged attempts to cancel. Amazon rejected any injustice.
The hearing was held in a federal court in Seattle, the backyard of Amazon. The jury selection started on Monday and the opening debates are planned for Tuesday and the hearing is expected to take about a month.
The Prime program of Amazon, which was launched in 2005, became one of the most popular subscription services in the world and became globally more than 200 million members and produced billions of dollars for the company. Membership is $ 139 per year and has advantages such as free shipping and access to flow content. Data showed Prime Minister members spend more and shopping than non -prime members.
Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive of Amazon in question The company Prime “wanted to be such a good value, you will be irresponsible not to be a member.”
Organizers claim that Amazon has deceived customers to subscribe to Prime and breaks the laws of competition and consumer protection. On the site, they drew attention to examples such as a button that told users to complete their transactions and made it clear that they agreed to join the Prime for a recurrent subscription.
In a court last week, the agency has refused to solve this known problem, which was registered with millions of consumers, information or consent to Prime without any information or consent, but Amazon refused to solve this known problem, which is described as a ‘spoiled cancer’, because it will lead to a decline in subscribers. “
The FTC says that the cancellation process is equally confusing and that users require the selection of four website and selection of 15 options – a “labirinthian mechanism”, which the company calls “ILIAD”, referred to Homer’s epic poem about the Trojan War.
Amazon, main registration and cancellation processes “open and simple” and the company “always transparent about the conditions of Prime” he added.
“Occasionally customer frustrations and errors are inevitable – especially for a popular program up to Amazon Prime.” “The evidence that customers misunderstand the main registration or cancellation of a small percentage of customers does not prove that Amazon violated the law.”
A pressure on ‘dark patterns’
FTC notched An early win Last week, the US Regional Court judge John Chun’s Amazon directed and two senior executives, the invoice of premium members before the announcement of the service requirements of the online shopping online shoppers violating the law of trust.
Chun also said that two senior Amazon executives would be responsible for the level of surveillance on the main registration and cancellation process with a jury FTC.
Neil Lindsay, Senior Vice President Neil Lindsay, who had previously supervised Prime’s technology and business operations in the Department of Health, Prime Minister of Amazon, was elected defendants.
Amazon International Consumer Consumer Senior Vice President Russell Grandinetti was also named in the case, but he argued that there was “less participation in the operation of the main organization” compared to Chun Ghani and Lindsay.
Chun also reduced Amazon’s lawyers in July because he abused thousands of documents from FTC and abused a legal privilege to protect them from examination. The documents included Amazon’s retail chef Doug Herrington’s “subscription driving” was a “shaded” practice, and Bezos’a 2020 E -mail, where the company called the “head dark arts officer”.
“As a result, neither the Amazon nor the individual defendants do nothing wrong – the facts will always move properly and always put customers in the first place.”
The company also faces a separate case in 2023, accusing the FTC of using an illegal monopoly. This case will be tried in February 2027.
The main case is part of the so -called broad pressure of FTC. Dark patterns, This expression refers to deceptive design tactics that aim to direct users to buy products or services or to give up their privacy.
The agency brought a similar dark molds case Uber In April, to accuse the driving greeting and distribution company of the Uber One of the subscription service of the subscription service of deceptive invoices and cancellation applications. Uber objected to FTC’s claims.
Earlier this year, it reached settlements with online flirting service Match and online training firm Festive He claims that subscription practices are deceptive or difficult to cancel.
