Amazon to Pay $1.5 Billion to Qualified Prime Subscribers in Settlement
Amazon reached a significant agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) following a probe into its Prime subscription practices. The FTC asserted that although Amazon made signing up for Prime easy, it intentionally complicated the cancellation process using what regulators described as "dark patterns".
“The company made use of manipulative dark patterns,” stated the FTC.
While Amazon did not admit to any misconduct, it consented to a $2.5 billion settlement. Out of this total, $1 billion will go to the U.S. government, and $1.5 billion will be distributed to consumers as refunds.
Consumer Refund Details
- Eligible subscribers will receive refunds of up to $51.
- Payouts will be processed by December 25, 2025.
Eligibility Criteria
- Signed up for Amazon Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, via a “challenged enrollment flow” (for instance, the shipping page during checkout).
- Or attempted to cancel Prime during the same period but faced obstacles.
Summary
Amazon will pay $1.5 billion in refunds to Prime members following FTC action over manipulative cancellation practices, marking one of the largest consumer relief settlements in digital commerce.