Another day, another settlement. Amazon has settled a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over misleading customers who signed up for Amazon Prime—though it claims it did nothing wrong.

The FTC alleged that Amazon used deceptive methods to sign up consumers for Prime subscriptions—and made it exceedingly difficult to cancel.

In the settlement, Amazon will be required to pay a $1 billion civil penalty, provide $1.5 billion in refunds back to consumers harmed by their deceptive Prime enrollment practices, and cease unlawful enrollment and cancellation practices for Prime.

The FTC claimed in its lawsuit that Amazon had used:

“manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically-renewing Prime subscriptions.” 

Dark patterns are tricks on websites or in apps to nudge or mislead people toward choices they wouldn’t normally make, like spending more money or signing up for recurring services without realizing it. Instead of helping users, these designs obscure, confuse, or pressure viewers to act quickly or accidentally.

Some common examples are:

• Large, colorful “Yes” buttons, but almost hidden “No” options
• Confusing cancellation steps with unclear language
• Pre-checked boxes for paid extras
• Endless popups urging one not to leave a page

Former FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya described Amazon’s “End Your Prime Membership” method as:

“a 4-page, 6-click, 15-option cancellation journey that Amazon itself compared to that slim airport read, Homer’s Iliad.”

Due to Amazon’s use of dark patterns, millions of people ended up signing up for Prime, some without realizing they’d agreed to recurring charges. Others gave up trying to cancel due to the exhausting steps.

The FTC found this to be a violation of the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, which was signed into law in 2010 to prevent companies using deception to prompt or encourage online purchases.

Amazon issued a statement saying:

“Amazon and our executives have always followed the law and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers. We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership, and to offer substantial value for our many millions of loyal Prime members around the world. We will continue to do so, and look forward to what we’ll deliver for Prime members in the coming years.”

Customers who enrolled in Prime between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025 may be eligible for a refund. Those who rarely used Prime benefits will automatically get back their fees—capped at $51—while others who meet the criteria can apply for a refund of up to the same amount.

As we argued a few days ago, settlements like these highlight a worrying trend: big tech pays off privacy violations, class actions grab headlines, and lawyers collect fees—while consumers hand over personal details again for a token payout.

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