WASHINGTON: Amazon violated consumer protection law by gathering Prime subscribers’ billing information before disclosing the service’s terms, a judge ruled yesterday, handing the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) a partial win.
The ruling by US district judge John Chun in the case accusing Amazon of deceptive practices to generate Prime subscriptions puts the company at a disadvantage at trial, though a company spokesman said it had done nothing wrong.
The FTC is poised to argue that the online retailer signed up tens of millions of customers for Prime without their consent and thwarted tens of millions of cancellation bids through complex cancellation methods.