Amazon just got slapped with a massive bill from the FTC—$2.5 billion—for tricking millions of customers into Prime subscriptions they didn’t want and then making it nearly impossible to cancel.
According to the settlement announced Thursday, Amazon will pay $1 billion in civil penalties and $1.5 billion in refunds to roughly 35 million customers who were caught in its “subscription traps.” The FTC called this the largest fine in its history for rule violations, and one of the biggest restitution victories ever.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson didn’t hold back: “The evidence showed that Amazon used sophisticated subscription traps designed to manipulate consumers into enrolling in Prime, and then made it exceedingly hard for consumers to end their subscription.” Translation: Amazon knew exactly what it was doing, and it was stealing people’s money.
Internal company documents exposed the truth, too. Executives and employees themselves called these practices “shady” and described unwanted Prime enrollments as “an unspoken cancer.” In other words, Amazon knew it was running a scam—but it kept milking customers anyway.
Amazon, of course, denies everything. In a statement, the company said it has “always followed the law” and only settled so it could “move forward.” That’s corporate speak for: we got caught but don’t want to admit it.
Former FTC Chair Lina Khan cut through the nonsense, posting on X that $2.5 billion is “a drop in the bucket for Amazon.” She’s right—Prime alone brings in billions every year. For a company swimming in cash, this fine stings more in reputation than in revenue.
Still, the settlement forces Amazon to change its shady practices: clear disclosures, easier cancellations, and no more hiding the “cancel” button behind a maze of screens. Basically, customers should finally be able to leave Prime as easily as they joined.
The irony is rich. Amazon built its empire on convenience, but when it came to canceling Prime, it weaponized inconvenience.
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