Amazon Faces US Trial Over Alleged Prime Subscription Tricks
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) much-anticipated trial against Amazon kicked off this week, putting the company’s popular Prime subscription service under intense scrutiny.
The lawsuit, first filed in 2023 during the Biden administration, accuses Amazon of tricking millions of customers into signing up for Prime and making it far more difficult to cancel than to join.
According to the FTC, Amazon allegedly used manipulative design tactics—known as “dark patterns”—to push users toward automatically renewing subscriptions. The complaint also claims the company created a confusing cancellation process, internally called the “Iliad Flow” (named after Homer’s epic war story), to discourage customers from leaving.
The FTC says that, until recently, canceling Prime required navigating a four-page, six-click, 15-option maze filled with distractions like warnings about losing perks or special discounts. Signing up, on the other hand, took just two clicks.
Amazon strongly denies the allegations.
“The bottom line is that neither Amazon nor the individual defendants did anything wrong,” a company spokesperson said. “We remain confident the facts will show we always put customers first.”
Why Prime Matters
Prime costs $14.99 a month or $139 a year. What began as a fast shipping perk has grown into one of Amazon’s biggest money-makers, offering streaming, grocery delivery, fuel discounts, food perks, and exclusive deals.
While Amazon doesn’t share exact numbers, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates the service had 197 million U.S. subscribers as of March 2025.
What’s Next
The trial, expected to last about a month, began with jury selection Monday and will move into opening arguments Tuesday. If the jury finds Amazon at fault, the judge will decide how much the company must pay in damages.
In response to criticism, Amazon has since simplified the cancellation process, now allowing members to either end or pause their subscription with a dedicated page.
For now, the case could set a major precedent for how big tech companies design sign-up and cancellation systems.
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