FTC sues Amazon over deceptive Prime sign-up and cancellation process
Summary
The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday sued Amazon , alleging the nations dominant online retailer intentionally duped millions of consumers into signing up for its mainstay Prime program and "sabotaged" their attempts to cancel. "Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money," FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement. Tensions flared between Amazon and the FTC when the agency sought to have CEO Andy Jassy and founder Jeff Bezos testify on the companys Prime practices. Launched in 2005, the Prime program has grown to become one of the most popular subscription services in the world, with more than 200 million members globally, and it has generated billions of dollars for Amazon. Amazon used an internal term called "Iliad" to describe the process, referencing Homers epic poem about the Trojan War, the agency said, citing a report by Insider.