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ARTICLE · 04 JULY 2023

Is Amazon Tricking Customers Into Providing Subscription Consent?

Klein Moynihan Turco LLP
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On June 21, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC" or "the Commission") filed a heavily redacted Complaint against Amazon.com Inc. ("Amazon") in the Western District Court of Washington.

United StatesConsumer Protection
David O. Klein
David O. Klein
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On June 21, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC" or "the Commission") filed a heavily redacted Complaint against Amazon.com Inc. ("Amazon") in the Western District Court of Washington. The Complaint alleges that the practices used by Amazon to obtain subscription consent violate both Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act ("FTC Act") and the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act ("ROSCA").

Specifically, the FTC alleges that Amazon "has knowingly duped millions of consumers into unknowingly enrolling in its Amazon Prime service" ("non-consensual enrollment") by using tricks known as "dark patterns."

As discussed further in a previous KMT blog post, the FTC also accuses Amazon of "knowingly complicat[ing] the cancellation process for Prime subscribers who sought to end their membership."

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