A Prime Example Of Dark Patterns? FTC Sues Amazon For Use Of "Dark Patterns" In Prime Enrollment

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against Amazon alleging that the company engaged in "dark patterns" to trick millions of consumers into enrolling in their Prime membership program. The FTC claims Amazon is "aware that its practices are legally indefensible" and is seeking civil penalties and a permanent injunction to prevent Amazon from continuing these practices.

This action, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, is the latest in a recent wave of activity by the FTC on dark patterns, including the FTC Staff Report on Dark Patterns and its release ofproposed updates to the federal Negative Option Rule. The lawsuit alleges that Amazon used dark patterns to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically renewing Prime subscriptions, and purposefully made it difficult for users to cancel their subscriptions. Echoing the FTC's prior guidance, "dark patterns" are specifically defined in the complaint as