Amazon Prime too easy to join, too hard to quit, says FTC lawsuit
- Reference: 1687365128
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/06/21/amazon_prime_ftc_lawsuit/
- Source link:
In a highly redacted [1]complaint [PDF] filed today in the Western US District Court for Washington state, The FTC accused Amazon of using so-called " [2]dark patterns ," manipulative user interfaces that trick consumers into spending money, to fool consumers into enrolling in Amazon Prime.
The FTC also accused Amazon of building a Prime cancellation process designed not to help users cancel their membership, but to stop them.
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"These manipulative tactics harm consumers and law-abiding businesses alike. The FTC will continue to vigorously protect Americans from 'dark patterns' and other unfair or deceptive practices in digital markets," FTC chair Lina Khan [4]said of the suit.
UK previously cracked down on UX
Reading through the portions of the case that aren't redacted, it becomes pretty clear how similar the FTC's argument is to a [5]2019 decision from the UK Advertising Standards Authority That similarly found Amazon had used some UI black magic to confuse users into signing up for Prime.
The ASA decided Amazon should be forced to change its UI to clarify purchase options that did and did not include a Prime membership, but no such decision has been handed down by the FTC yet, as the case was just filed today.
[6]
[7]
Still, the FTC makes similar complaints about the sign-up process, specifically that buttons on Amazon for buying products don't make it clear which option adds a Prime membership and associated recurring payment.
While that's bad enough, the FTC goes full Greek epic on Amazon's Prime cancellation flow, which it refers to as the "Iliad flow" in reference to the 16,000 line Greek poem of the same name and its associated length and complexity. Iliad is also [8]reportedly the internal code name of the long, complicated process at Amazon developed to prevent Prime cancellations, which the FTC alleges was done at the behest of Amazon leadership who wished to keep the Prime cash flowing.
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"Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money," Khan claimed.
According to the suit, The Iliad flow required customers to "navigate a four-page, six-click, fifteen-option cancellation process," in contrast to the one or two click process for getting sucked into the Prime vortex.
The FTC further alleges that the Iliad flow was made difficult to locate, as even getting into the Prime cancellation process required substantial navigation through Amazon's account pages. Amazon also made it impossible for Prime customers to cancel Prime through applications on its Fire Stick and Fire TV, despite both giving consumers the option to enroll in Prime.
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"Amazon did not design the Iliad Flow to be simple or easy for consumers. The Iliad Flow inhibits or prevents many consumers who intend to cancel from cancelling their membership," the FTC said in its complaint.
The FTC is accusing Amazon of being well aware that what it was doing was less than legal, as it "launched the Iliad Flow in 2016, and did not substantially change it in the United States until in or about April 2023," shortly before this case was filed. Amazon "failed to take any meaningful steps to address the issues until they were aware of the FTC investigation," the FTC went on to claim.
[11]The seven deadly sins of the 2010s: No, not pride, sloth, etc. The seven UI 'dark patterns' that trick you into buying stuff
[12]UK ads watchdog slaps Amazon for UX dark arts after folk bought Prime subs they didn't want
[13]Google settles location tracking lawsuit for only $39.9M
[14]Epic payment: Fortnite maker pays record $520m to settle FTC case
The Commission charged Amazon with one count of violating the Federal Trade Commission Act by unfairly charging consumers without their consent, as well as four violations of the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act, or ROSCA, which was passed in 2010 with the intent to eliminate dark patterns and misleading ecommerce interfaces. Amazon is being accused of three ROSCA violations: Non-consensual enrollment, failure to provide a simple cancellation and inadequate disclosure.
The FTC is asking for similar injunctive relief as ordered by the ASA in 2019, with the commission asking for a permanent injunction barring Amazon from the use of the Iliad flow and other dark patterns, as well as monetary and civil relief. A court date has [15]not been set . ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/amazon-rosca-public-redacted-complaint-to_be_filed.pdf
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2019/06/26/marketing_manipulation_dark_patterns/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZJNy-4o5-qOqWS2IkcU1lgAAABE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/06/ftc-takes-action-against-amazon-enrolling-consumers-amazon-prime-without-consent-sabotaging-their
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2019/10/30/amazon_prime_payment_page_ux_badness/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZJNy-4o5-qOqWS2IkcU1lgAAABE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZJNy-4o5-qOqWS2IkcU1lgAAABE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-project-iliad-made-cancel-prime-membership-harer-leaked-data-2022-3
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZJNy-4o5-qOqWS2IkcU1lgAAABE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZJNy-4o5-qOqWS2IkcU1lgAAABE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2019/06/26/marketing_manipulation_dark_patterns/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2019/10/30/amazon_prime_payment_page_ux_badness/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/22/google_gets_another_great_deal/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/19/ftc_fortnite_/
[15] https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/2123050-amazoncom-inc-rosca-ftc-v
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Poetic Justice?
Counting down to someone mentioning a horse . . .
Re: Poetic Justice?
bet it takes 10 years to get a resolution
Re: Poetic Justice?
Whatever case the FTC can weave today, Amazon's lawyers will unravel during the night
There is a way to sign up for Prime in two clicks?
Someone is going to get a lousy performance review for making the process too complicated.
[I got caught out be a 'click the other button to prevent not cancelling subscribing to prime'. Attempting to cancel crashed the browser at the same place on two tries. Good thing there is a choice of browser.]
Different UI in America?
I wonder if I see a different UI (connecting to amazon.de). The last couple of times I have signed up for a free 3-months Prime trial, I have found it really quite straightforward to cancel my Prime membership.
I also like the fact that I can sign up, place the order, and then cancel it - but it still lasts until my three months is up.
Re: Different UI in America?
Indeed. As I said recently, multiple time I've signed up for Prime deliberately and used the 30 days, cancelling without any great difficulty; and I plan on doing so later this year, when they make available all the episodes I want to binge watch.
Ok, cancelling means going into the "My account" which is harder than joining - returning a product is about as difficult (i.e. not very, if you read what is actually on the screen), just as buying the product was easier than returning it. Not really a surprise.
Ok, I have hit the wrong button (the big one rather than the link beside it that plainly days "no, I don't want the magical experience" (or something like that) but it has always been possible to catch that before completing checkout.
Amazon certainly promote the heck out of Prime, with big happy buttons and banner ads, but then so does everyone who offers a subscription. But if you read what is presented to you, including what the checkout says (has the p&p just vanished?) then you can escape unscathed. If not, you have 30 days to cancel.
Weirdly, SWMBO has come to me, worried that she had signed up to Prime, and I've had to point out that, no, she hadn't!
BTW this is for the UK website - Amazon apps may be totally different.
I misread that headline as homoerotic. Amazon getting into some serious bondage.
Yes! Yes!
I have been banging on about Amazon Prime for years.
The involuntary lock-in, the convoluted escape process and the danger that the next time you want to get anything from this bunch of cowboys you run the risk of getting sucked in again.
It took me days, 'phoning, arguing, trying to understand an agent for whom English was not her first language to prise myself from Amazon's clammy grasp.
In the end, although I made it clear that a flag should be put on my account indicating that I should never be enrolled in Prime, I decided to refuse to do business with such a shady bunch of chancers.
The spider can't catch you if you do not walk into their web.
The UK judgement appears to have achieved nothing. For the past few months I've had to scroll back up the order form to confirm that I really don't want Prime after I select the free delivery option.
It's a shit UI and someone at Amazon should be ashamed.
I don't want their free TV and music and I don't give a toss when items actually arrive. I just want to pay the lowest cost possible and I actually enjoy the randomness of free delivery.
Fuck off and stop trying to get me to subscribe to Prime or I'll go elsewhere,
It is not just Amazon
that uses such tricks. Many web sites make it easy to accept what the web site wants and hard/much-clicking to stop things.
Having said that: Amazon is one of the worst.
A suitable penalty (when found guilty) would be to refund prime membership fees for the last 5 years - all of them since it is not possible to know who wanted it and who got sucked in.
Re: It is not just Amazon
Such as Sky TV. You can add new channels/packages via the Web, but removing them took a 30 minute chat session. At least it wasn't a phone call.
Re: It is not just Amazon
On the other hand when I called Sky to cancel Netflix last year they offered to let me have my package (ie; everything except Netflix) for half price if I just agreed to sign up for another 12 months. I didn't have to ask and there was no hard sell. The lady just removed Netflix then said something like "Oh, you know what? I could reduce your subscription by half if you are happy to sign up for a 12 month contract".
Since I hadn't intended to leave anyway it was a no-brainer :)
Not been caught so far.
But it's very difficult to avoid. If they did manage to catch me I'd immediately cancel the credit card.
YES and NO
I was impressed (in a bad way) by the Amazon checkout dialogue box that said "Would you like a free trial of Prime?" with big YES and and NO buttons. On the 'NO' button in tiny text it said "NO, I don't want to miss the opportunity to try Prime!" So effectively it was another YES button. I eventually found the real 'no' option, which was even tinier, and lurking in the corner of the screen.
I guess things must have changed a lot because I always remember several years back wanting to cancel a prime subscription that I'd stupidly allowed to go beyond the free trial period - I was all set for the usual helpless battle and being tied in for the next 12 months, but the process couldn't have been simpler and the money was refunded in full within a couple of days.
This is in the past I assume?
Because just out of curiosity I started my Amazon Prime app and it took me less than 10 seconds to find the place to click to end my subscription. I didn't click it, so if there's some byzantine sequence after you click that I don't know - but I wasn't willing to risk that it would do exactly what it said without any further confirmation.
Re: This is in the past I assume?
Where are you, Europe or the USA ?
The app may be different on different sides of the pond. Can anyone enlighten us ?
Poetic Justice?
I doubt this will be the Achilles heel for Amazon's dark business practices, but perhaps this is just the opening chapters of this tragedy.