Okay, so the government just hit Amazon with a huge fine – $2.5 billion! Apparently, they were making it way too hard for people to cancel their Prime memberships and were even signing people up without them really knowing. The FTC is making them pay $1 billion as a penalty and another $1.5 billion back to us, the customers. Plus, they’re finally promising to stop with all the sneaky sign-up and cancellation tricks. Good, honestly, it was a pain to deal with!
Amazon earns about $1 billion every 13 hours, so the fine won’t significantly impact its finances. However, the Federal Trade Commission is emphasizing the importance of this case as a legal precedent.
What did the FTC say?
According to FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, Amazon deliberately made it difficult for customers to cancel their Prime subscriptions after enrolling them through deceptive sign-up methods.
We’re returning billions of dollars to American families today and taking steps to prevent Amazon from repeating this issue.
As part of the agreement, Amazon must update how people sign up for Prime. The Federal Trade Commission is requiring Amazon to remove the confusing “No, I don’t want free shipping” option and replace it with a clear button that allows customers to easily decline a Prime membership if they choose.
Amazon is now required to clearly explain how Prime enrollment works, including the price, how often you’ll be billed, and how auto-renewal functions. They also need to make canceling Prime just as simple as signing up. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the cancellation process shouldn’t be complicated, expensive, or take a long time, and customers should be able to cancel using the same method they used to subscribe.
Amazon reached a settlement without acknowledging any fault. However, a company spokesperson stated to Reuters that they are dedicated to making it easy for customers to start and end their Prime memberships, and that they provide significant benefits to their large base of Prime members globally.
How to get free money
Okay, so as a Prime member, I was reading about this FTC settlement, and it sounds like a lot of us – around 35 million people! – are going to get money back. Apparently, if you signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, through certain promotions, and didn’t really use a ton of Prime benefits (three or fewer in a year), you’re eligible for up to $51. The best part? We don’t even have to *do* anything! The money will just be automatically refunded to us, which is awesome.
Just before Amazon’s next Prime Big Deal Days sale on October 7th and 8th, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement.
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2025-09-25 23:12