FTC sues Amazon for using ‘deceptive’ tactics to sign up customers for Prime

The Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon on Wednesday, alleging the retailer worked for years to enroll consumers into its Prime service without their consent, while knowingly making it difficult for them to cancel their subscriptions.

The complaint, which was filed in federal court in Seattle, alleges that Amazon used “manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs” to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically renewing Prime subscriptions.

“Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money,” said FTC Chair Lina M....