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Jury Trial Opens in Seattle on FTC Claims Amazon Tricked Shoppers Into Prime

A pretrial ruling that Amazon violated ROSCA for collecting billing details before disclosing terms heightens the stakes for potential refunds and civil penalties.

Overview

  • Opening arguments begin Tuesday after a nine-member jury was seated, with the month-long trial overseen by U.S. District Judge John Chun.
  • The FTC alleges Amazon used deceptive 'dark pattern' designs to enroll customers and a four-page, six-click, 15-option 'Iliad' flow to deter cancellations.
  • Judge Chun ruled last week that Amazon violated ROSCA by taking payment information before disclosing Prime terms and that executives Jamil Ghani and Neil Lindsay can be held individually liable.
  • The FTC seeks consumer refunds, permanent injunctions and penalties that could reach up to $53,000 per violation, citing evidence of widespread abandonment of cancellation and an expert estimate of about 40 million nonconsensual enrollments.
  • Amazon denies wrongdoing, says it has updated sign-up and cancellation pages, and the jury will determine liability before the judge decides any remedies.