Amazon is set to face trial in Seattle as the US Federal Trade Commission alleges the company enrolled tens of millions of customers into its Prime service without consent and made cancellations unnecessarily difficult.

The FTC claims Amazon failed to clearly disclose that opting for free shipping during checkout would lead to automatic enrollment in Prime, which costs US$14.99 per month and includes expedited shipping and streaming benefits.

The agency says Amazon did not update its disclosures until 2022, after the FTC began investigating the company.

An FTC expert estimated that 40 million shoppers were signed up for Prime without their agreement, and Amazon’s data shows many users abandoned the cancellation process before completing it.

Amazon denies all wrongdoing and argues its terms are clear and cancellation options are available.

If found liable, Amazon could face damages in the hundreds of millions and fines up to US$53,000 per violation.

A jury will decide if the company broke the law, with penalties determined by the judge.

🔗 Source: Reuters

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