LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – At least one agency believes that users of Amazon’s Prime membership service have been cheated into paying more than they ought to, and as of Wednesday sued the company. 

On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon, claiming the company violated the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act by using a technique, “dark patterns,” otherwise known as deceptive tactics meant to steer users towards a specific choice, prompting users to sign up for Prime without their consent. 

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“Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement.

An Amazon spokesperson responded stating that the claims were “false on the facts and the law.” 

“The truth is that customers love Prime, and by design we make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up for or cancel their Prime membership,” Spokeswoman Heather Layman said. “As with all our products and services, we continually listen to customer feedback and look for ways to improve the customer experience, and we look forward to the facts becoming clear as this case plays out.”

Part of the lawsuit alleges that the company has violated consumer protection laws by manipulating millions of customers in several ways including: 

  • Making it more difficult for customers to buy products without a Prime membership 
  • Utilizing a “dark pattern” to get unsuspecting consumers to enroll in the Prime service without their knowledge
  •  The cancellation process was allegedly also more difficult to navigate, requiring six clicks, which was referred to internally as the “Illiad Flow,” an homage to Homer’s epic poem regarding the Trojan War.

According to CNBC, this makes the third case by the FTC against Amazon in the past month, although Amazon agreed in late May to settle a former case in the realm of $30 million to settle  allegations of privacy lapses in its Alexa and Ring units.