FTC Accuses Amazon of, Tricking Millions of Consumers , With 'Dark Patterns' .<br />On June 21, the United States Federal Trade Commission <br />(FTC) filed a lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the online giant <br />of tricking consumers into hard-to-cancel paid subscriptions.<br />Reuters reports that the FTC alleges that , "Amazon has knowingly duped millions of consumers <br />into unknowingly enrolling in Amazon Prime.".<br />According to the FTC, Amazon used , "manipulative, coercive or deceptive user-interface designs known as 'dark patterns' to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically renewing Prime subscriptions.".<br />Prime currently has over <br />200 million members globally.<br />An annual Prime membership <br />in the United States generally , costs about $139. .<br />Following news of the lawsuit, , shares in Amazon were <br />trading down 1%. .<br />Following news of the lawsuit, , shares in Amazon were <br />trading down 1%. .<br />Reuters reports that the FTC's investigation into <br />Amazon's sign-up and cancellation processes has<br />been under way since March of 2021.<br />Amazon tricked and trapped people into <br />recurring subscriptions without their <br />consent, not only frustrating users but <br />also costing them significant money, Lina Khan, FTC Chair, via Reuters.<br />According to the FTC lawsuit, consumers looking to cancel their Prime memberships were faced with a multi-step process.<br />The lawsuit cites media reporting that <br />said Amazon referred to the process as <br />"Iliad," a reference to Homer's epic poem. .<br />The lawsuit cites media reporting that <br />said Amazon referred to the process as <br />"Iliad," a reference to Homer's epic poem.
