Judge Rules Amazon Violated Consumer Law in Prime Subscription Practices

WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Amazon violated consumer protection laws by collecting Prime subscribers’ billing information without fully disclosing the service’s terms, delivering a partial victory to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in its case against the retail giant.

U.S. District Judge John Chun’s decision strengthens the FTC’s position as it prepares to argue that Amazon deceptively enrolled tens of millions of customers in Prime without consent and obstructed cancellation attempts with overly complex processes, violating the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act (ROSCA). The ruling also holds two Amazon executives liable for any violations proven at trial and prevents Amazon from claiming ROSCA does not apply to Prime signups.

“Today’s decision affirms that Amazon defrauded American consumers by failing to disclose all terms of Prime before collecting payment information,” said Chris Mufarrige, head of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The Trump-Vance FTC intends to make them whole.”

An Amazon spokesperson rejected the allegations, stating, “Neither Amazon nor the individual defendants did anything wrong. We remain confident the facts will show these executives acted properly and we always put customers first.”

The ruling sets the stage for a contentious trial, with the FTC alleging widespread deceptive practices in Amazon’s Prime subscription model.

--REAL AMERICA'S VOICE

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