Amazon is accused of enrolling consumers into Prime without consent and making it hard to cancel

NEW YORK — Amazon was sued Wednesday by the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly engaging in a yearslong effort to enroll consumers without consent into Amazon Prime and making it difficult for them to cancel their subscriptions. “Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a prepared statement. “These manipulative tactics harm consumers and law-abiding businesses alike.” The FTC argued that Amazon’s practices violated the FTC Act and another law called the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, which Amazon disputed. Layman, the Amazon spokesperson, said the company found it “concerning” the FTC filed the lawsuit without notifying Amazon, which was in discussion with agency staffers about Prime. Congress must engage in robust oversight to rein in the FTC by cutting funding and investigating its ethical lapses and abuse of power.” The group, which counts Amazon as one of its members, also pointed to Khan’s prior criticism of the company, and accused her of using the lawsuit “to attack American businesses she doesn’t like.” Khan, 34, burst onto the antitrust scene in 2017 with her massive scholarly work as a Yale law student, “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox.” In 2021, Amazon asked unsuccessfully that she remove herself from separate antitrust investigations into its business, arguing that her public criticism of the company’s market power before she joined the government makes it impossible for her to be impartial.