Federal regulators have sued Amazon, alleging the company for years “tricked” people into Prime memberships that were purposefully hard to cancel. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

We have shared our concern about the company so many times in the last decade it is surprising that this part of their market aggression has not featured until now:

FTC sues Amazon for ‘tricking and trapping’ people in Prime subscriptions

Federal regulators have sued Amazon, alleging the company for years “tricked” people into buying Prime memberships that were purposefully hard to cancel.

The Federal Trade Commission, in a legal complaint filed on Wednesday, says Amazon illegally used “manipulative, coercive, or deceptive” designs to enroll shoppers into auto-renewing Prime subscriptions. Regulators also accuse Amazon of purposefully building a convoluted, multi-step cancellation process to discourage people from quitting.

“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 statement.

The Prime membership costs $139 a year or $14.99 a month, with perks including access to faster two-day shipping and video streaming. Prime subscribers tend to spend more on Amazon than other shoppers. According to the FTC, Prime membership fees account for $25 billion of the company’s annual revenue.

In a statement, Amazon called FTC’s accusations “false on the facts and the law.” The company’s response suggested that the lawsuit caught Amazon by surprise, as corporate representatives were in talks with FTC staff and expecting to meet with commissioners…

Read the whole article here.