FTC Sues Amazon Over Prime Subscription Dark Patterns

In June 2023, the FTC filed a lawsuit against Amazon alleging the company used deceptive design practices — known as "dark patterns" — to trick millions of consumers into enrolling in Amazon Prime subscriptions and then deliberately made the cancellation process extremely confusing and burdensome.

According to the FTC, Amazon's sign-up process was designed to push consumers toward Prime enrollment through strategically placed prompts during the checkout flow. Many consumers were enrolled without clearly understanding they were signing up for a paid recurring subscription.

The cancellation process was even more problematic. Internally, Amazon referred to its cancellation flow as "Iliad" — a reference to Homer's epic poem about a long, arduous journey. The process required consumers to navigate through multiple pages of offers, warnings, and confusing options before they could actually cancel. Each page was designed to convince the user to keep their subscription, with the actual cancellation option made deliberately hard to find.

Internal documents revealed that Amazon employees had raised concerns about these practices, and the company had resisted simplifying the cancellation process because it would increase the rate of cancellations. When the FTC began its investigation, Amazon allegedly took steps to delay the investigation and frustrate the regulatory process.