Amazon is set to defend its most lucrative service in a high-stakes trial that began Monday, as the Federal Trade Commission presses allegations that the company used "dark patterns" to trick millions of consumers into signing up for Prime and made cancellation intentionally difficult.
Jury selection started Monday, with opening arguments scheduled for Tuesday. The trial, expected to last about a month, will determine whether Amazon violated the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act. If the FTC prevails, Amazon could face fines, customer refunds, and new restrictions on how it markets and cancels subscriptions.
The 2023 lawsuit accuses Amazon of designing a "labyrinthine" process to deter users from canceling. Regulators said the cancellation system, internally referred to as the "Iliad Flow"-a nod to the grueling Trojan War saga-forced users through a four-page, six-click, fifteen-option sequence filled with distractions, warnings about losing benefits, and promotional offers meant to derail their exit.
By contrast, enrollment could be completed in two clicks, the FTC said, and in some cases, checkout buttons would complete a purchase and enroll the shopper in Prime without clear disclosure of recurring charges.
"Specifically, Amazon used manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as 'dark patterns' to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically renewing Prime subscriptions," the FTC complaint said.
Amazon rejected the allegations, insisting that customers know what they are signing up for. "Neither Amazon nor the individual defendants did anything wrong," an Amazon spokesperson told CNN. "We remain confident that the facts will show these executives acted properly and we always put customers first."
Prime is Amazon's most powerful revenue driver. The $14.99-per-month or $139-per-year service has an estimated 197 million U.S. subscribers, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, and members spend roughly twice as much as non-members. The FTC estimates that up to 40 million people may have been signed up through these practices.
U.S. District Judge John Chun last week delivered a partial win to the FTC, ruling that Amazon violated federal law by collecting payment details before disclosing key terms and holding that two Amazon executives could be found personally liable if violations are proven. He also barred Amazon from arguing that federal shopper protection laws don't apply to Prime.
