Overview
- Amazon will pay $1 billion to the U.S. government and $1.5 billion in consumer refunds while neither admitting nor denying wrongdoing.
- Roughly 35 million U.S. customers are eligible for refunds, with distribution plans and claim instructions to be announced in the coming weeks.
- Mandated changes require a clear reject button, upfront disclosure of costs and auto-renewal terms before any charge, and cancellation that is as simple as sign-up using the same method.
- An independent monitor will supervise compliance, and Amazon must drop misleading prompts such as “No, I don’t want free shipping.”
- The dispute reached trial in Seattle this week after a court held Prime is covered by consumer-protection laws, then settled before day three with the largest civil fine in FTC history.