Amazon faces FTC lawsuit over prime subscriptions

LONDON: A U.S. judge in Seattle on Tuesday rejected Amazon.com's request to dismiss a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit that accuses the company of enrolling millions of consumers into its paid Amazon Prime service without their consent. Attorneys for Amazon had urged U.S. District Judge John Chun to dismiss the FTC's claims. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The FTC lawsuit filed in June 2023 accusing the retailer of deceptive practices. It argued Amazon made it hard to cancel and knew that a percentage of consumers accidentally signed up for Prime and that some consumers were charged for multiple months before they canceled their memberships. Amazon urged Chun to dismiss the FTC lawsuit, arguing the company "prominently and repeatedly" disclosed key terms - including price and automatic renewal - to Prime customers. Amazon also accused the FTC of seeking to punish the company through "undefined concepts" such as "manipulative" website designs.