A closely watched courtroom battle opened this week as Amazon.com Inc. stood before a federal jury in Seattle to answer charges from the Federal Trade Commission that the retail giant misled millions of customers into signing up for its flagship Prime subscription service — and then deliberately made it difficult to cancel.
The trial, expected to last four weeks, marks the first time a jury will weigh allegations that one of the world’s largest online retailers violated consumer-protection laws through so-called “dark patterns” — online design tactics critics say manipulate users into making unintended choices. A nine-person jury will ultimately decide whether Amazon’s enrollment and cancellation practices broke federal law, exposing the company to potentially billions of dollars in penalties and customer refunds.
FTC attorney Jonathan Cohen told jurors in opening statements that Amazon’s “thirst for growth” drove it to enroll more than 35 million people into Prime without their full consent. “Nothing about Prime matters more than the number of members — whether those members wanted to be members or not,” he said. Cohen framed the case as an example of “one of the largest companies acting like they are above the law.”
Amazon’s legal team countered that the government is overreaching, focusing on the size of buttons, the placement of links, and other interface choices that go beyond what the law requires. “This is not a shadowy, gimmicky program,” said Amazon lawyer Moez Kaba. “Nobody gets automatically enrolled for Prime.”
The FTC launched the civil enforcement action two years ago, under President Biden. But with the case now moving forward under the Trump administration, the agency finds itself squaring off with a company that has been trying to rebuild its Washington relationships after years of federal scrutiny. The FTC has already filed a separate antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, scheduled for trial in 2027.
According to the FTC, Amazon designed its Prime enrollment process to be quick and seamless, while requiring consumers to navigate multiple steps and pages to cancel — an internal practice nicknamed the “Iliad,” after Homer’s lengthy epic poem. The complaint also names three senior Amazon executives — Neil Lindsay, Russell Grandinetti and Jamil Ghani — alleging they rejected proposals to simplify cancellation because it could hurt Prime’s growth and revenues. All three are expected to testify, along with Amazon customers who struggled to end their subscriptions or secure refunds. Current and former employees who raised internal alarms about misleading tactics may also take the stand.
Prime membership, which costs $139 a year, underpins Amazon’s e-commerce empire by bundling fast shipping, video streaming and other perks that turn occasional shoppers into loyal, high-spending customers. The FTC accuses the company of violating the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act of 2010, which allows penalties of more than $53,000 per violation whenever customers aren’t given clear terms or straightforward cancellation procedures. Given the scale of Prime’s user base, potential fines could reach into the billions.
Beyond the money at stake, the trial represents an early test of the FTC’s campaign to rein in dark patterns online. The agency has recently taken action against other companies, including LA Fitness and Uber Technologies, for making it hard to cancel memberships. It is pressing these cases after a federal appeals court overturned a rule requiring businesses to make cancellations as easy as sign-ups.
Cohen said Amazon had been aware of customer complaints about Prime sign-ups and cancellations since at least 2015, but rolled back changes to make the process clearer when sign-ups declined. He also described how employees worried about the real-world impact on customers living paycheck to paycheck, recounting one internal email warning that an unexpected $12.99 charge could mean less money for food or rent. According to Cohen, executive Ghani responded by consulting a lawyer and coaching the employee on what to write in future emails.
If the jury concludes Amazon and its executives broke the law, U.S. District Judge John Chun will determine the financial penalties, restitution and any changes to Amazon’s practices. Kaba, Amazon’s lawyer, told jurors the FTC’s case rests on “cherry-picked” evidence and disputed the idea that large numbers of customers were harmed. He pointed to internal data showing that before Amazon streamlined its cancellation process in 2023, the average time to cancel Prime was about 40 seconds; after the changes, it dropped to just 21 to 24 seconds.
With billions of dollars and a precedent-setting verdict on the line, the trial is poised to be one of the most consequential consumer-protection showdowns in years — a legal battle that could redefine how far U.S. regulators can go in policing the design of digital services used by tens of millions of Americans.
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