Amazon Counters FTC Allegations, Insists Prime Sign-Up and Cancellation Processes are Transparent and Legal

Amazon.Com Inc AMZN has denied deceiving subscribers to its Amazon Prime service, requesting a Seattle U.S. judge dismiss a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit.

In June, the FTC alleged Amazon of conning millions of consumers with manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as "dark patterns" to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically renewing Prime subscriptions.

On Wednesday, Amazon's attorneys urged U.S. District Judge John Chun to dismiss the FTC's allegations. 

Amazon argued disclosing prominently and repeatedly vital terms, including price and automatic renewal, to Prime customers. 

Reuters notes that Amazon also accused the FTC of seeking to punish it through "undefined concepts" like "manipulative" website designs.

Amazon emphasized the argument that Prime's sign-up and cancellation processes are transparent.

In a separate case, the FTC in September indicted Amazon of violating U.S. antitrust law in business practices that restrict merchants from offering lower prices than Amazon's. That case is also pending in Chun's Seattle court.

FTC Chair Lina M. Khan charged Amazon for exploiting its monopoly power, enriching itself at the expense of American families and businesses. 

The FTC's Prime lawsuit pressured Amazon to change its cancellation process in April before the agency filed it. 

Amazon allegedly requires five clicks on desktop and six on mobile for consumers to cancel from Amazon.com. A 10-day non-jury trial in the case is likely for February 2025.

Price Action: AMZN shares traded lower by 0.19% at $128.15 premarket on the last check Friday.