Seattle / Washington — Amazon has agreed to a landmark $2.5 billion settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to resolve allegations that the company used deceptive signup practices to enroll millions of shoppers in its Prime membership and made cancellations difficult. The settlement, announced Sept. 25, requires Amazon to pay a $1 billion civil penalty and provide $1.5 billion in refunds to affected consumers.
The FTC said the case centered on “dark patterns” and other misleading online tactics that coaxed customers into accepting paid Prime subscriptions — and on obstacles that discouraged or blocked timely cancellations. The agency said the unlawful practices violated the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) and that the monetary award ranks among the largest in the FTC’s history for consumer redress and penalties.
Under the settlement terms, the agency estimates that roughly 35 million consumers were affected between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025. Many eligible customers will receive automatic payments — the FTC said certain consumers will get about $51 each — while others will be able to file claims through a broader refund process. The deal also requires Amazon to change its checkout and cancellation flows to make subscription choices and renewal terms clear and to obtain explicit consumer consent.
FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson hailed the settlement as a major enforcement success, saying regulators had shown that sophisticated subscription traps can cause widespread consumer harm. Amazon, which did not admit wrongdoing, said it reached the agreement to avoid prolonged litigation and will implement changes to make enrollment and cancellation clearer for customers.
The case capped a high-profile trial that had put Amazon’s consumer-practices under intense public and regulatory scrutiny. Beyond refunds and the fine, the settlement is expected to include independent monitoring and specific compliance requirements to prevent similar enrollment and cancellation practices in the future. Legal experts said the outcome will be watched closely by other tech firms and regulators as a test of how aggressively the U.S. government will police online subscription practices.
