Amazon has agreed to a $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over charges that it knowingly trapped customers into paying for Prime subscriptions, the agency announced Thursday.The ecommerce giant will pay a $1 billion civil penalty and pledge another $1.5 billion in refunds to customers who were harmed by its conduct, the FTC said in a release. Amazon will also “cease unlawful enrollment and cancellation practices for Prime.”About 35 million consumers were affected by Amazon’s alleged m ...

By Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India's government has drafted a proposal to ease foreign investment rules to allow e-commerce companies such as Amazon to buy products directly from Indian sellers and then sell them to overseas customers, a document showed. India prohibits foreign e-commerce companies from selling goods directly to consumers at home or abroad, allowing them only to operate a marketplace to connect buyers and sellers for a fee. The policy has been a matter of dispute between New D ...

案件核心信息 - 公司同意支付25亿美元与美国联邦贸易委员会就Prime会员注册相关指控达成和解 [1] - 此案是美国联邦贸易委员会在消费者保护案件中金额最大的经济补偿之一 [2] 具体指控内容 - 指控公司在结账过程中使用欺骗性手段，在消费者未明确同意的情况下为其注册139美元/年的Prime服务 [2] - 指控公司通过混淆的界面设计，使拒绝Prime会员的选项难以发现，而注册服务的按钮却非常醒目 [3] - 指控公司内部将复杂的取消系统命名为“Iliad”，暗示其流程如同特洛伊战争般漫长而艰难 [3] - 指控公司隐藏了关于Prime价格和自动续费的关键信息，或将其置于不易察觉的细则中 [4] 和解协议要求 - 公司必须改革其Prime会员的注册和取消流程，包括提供清晰的拒绝选项和简化取消程序 [4] - 公司必须在向消费者收费前实施新的信息披露要求 [4] 案件背景与法律进展 - 法院已于上周裁定，Amazon Prime订阅受消费者保护法约束，且公司在未完全披露订阅条款前就获取了消费者的账单信息 [5] - 此次和解提案是在西雅图法院第三天庭审开始前提出的，公司既不承认也不否认存在不当行为 [5] - 此案是近年来美国两党为遏制科技巨头权力而发起的一系列诉讼之一 [6]

ToplineAmazon will pay the FTC a whopping $2.5 billion to settle allegations it used “deceptive” practices to get people signed up for Prime subscriptions and hinder their ability to cancel the delivery service, marking one of the largest settlements in FTC history.The settlement was announced Thursday. (Photo via Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images).Getty Images ...

Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations that it duped users into paying for Prime subscriptions and made it hard to cancel memberships. The company will be required to pay a $1 billion civil penalty and provide $1.5 billion in refunds to an estimated 35 million consumers harmed by the company’s “deceptive Prime enrollment practices,” the FTC says. Amazon is also required to stop its “unlawful enrollment and cancellation practices. ...

和解协议核心条款 - 亚马逊同意支付总额25亿美元以和解联邦贸易委员会的诉讼，其中包括10亿美元的民事罚款和向约3500万受影响消费者提供的15亿美元退款 [1] - 公司被要求停止其“非法的注册和取消操作” [1] - 亚马逊必须在注册流程中明确披露订阅费用、账单日期和频率、自动续订条款以及取消程序 [2] - 公司需为消费者提供简化的Prime会员取消方式，该方法需与注册时使用的方式相同 [2] 被指控的不当行为 - 联邦贸易委员会指控亚马逊使用混淆和欺骗性的用户界面，诱导消费者在不知情的情况下注册Prime会员 [1] - 公司被指为想要取消订阅的消费者设置了复杂的流程，迫使他们经历不必要的步骤 [1] - 联邦贸易委员会主席称亚马逊使用复杂的订阅陷阱来操纵消费者注册，并使其极难终止订阅 [3] 和解背景与行业比较 - 此次和解发生在诉讼刚进入庭审阶段之际 [2] - 该和解协议是联邦贸易委员会历史上规模最大的和解之一，仅次于2019年Meta（原Facebook）因侵犯用户隐私达成的50亿美元和解 [5] - 亚马逊仍面临另一项联邦诉讼，被指控非法抑制竞争 [5] 用户界面具体变更要求 - 亚马逊必须包含一个清晰的按钮，让客户能够拒绝注册Prime会员，例如不能再使用“不，我不想要免费送货”之类的按钮 [2]

Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle claims that it enrolled millions in Prime membership subscriptions without their consent and also made it hard for customers to cancel, the Federal Trade Commission announced on Thursday. The settlement includes a $1 billion civil penalty, and a $1.5 billion fund to give refunds back to consumers. Amazon Prime subscribers get access to Prime Video, the tech giant’s subscription streaming service. The FTC said that the $1 billion civil penalty is the largest e ...

交易与罚款 - 交易包含10亿美元民事罚款 为联邦贸易委员会涉及规则违反案件中最高金额 [1]

诉讼与和解 - 亚马逊同意支付25亿美元以了结美国联邦贸易委员会关于其欺骗近4000万客户注册Prime会员并设置复杂取消流程的指控[1] - 和解金包括10亿美元的民事罚款和15亿美元的消费者退款 其中15亿美元的退款是联邦贸易委员会有史以来获得的第二大赔偿金额[2] - 针对亚马逊的诉讼最初于两年前提起 联邦贸易委员会指控公司设计了一个"迷宫式"的取消流程以阻止客户完成取消操作[3] 公司立场与流程变更 - 在审判开始前 亚马逊发表声明坚持认为公司及相关高管行为得当 并始终将客户放在首位[2] - 自与联邦贸易委员会的纠纷开始后 亚马逊已更改其取消政策 设立了独立的取消页面让会员查看暂停或终止会员资格的选项[4] - 根据和解条款 亚马逊必须提供一个清晰显著的按钮供客户拒绝Prime会员 并且不能再使用"不 我不想要免费送货"之类的按钮表述 同时需支付费用聘请独立第三方监督其合规情况[4] 业务影响与相关案件 - 亚马逊不定期公布Prime会员数量 目前估计其会员数超过2亿 Prime会员往往比非订阅用户消费更多 对公司更具价值[5] - 此次诉讼与联邦贸易委员会针对亚马逊的反垄断案件是分开的 该反垄断案件在多个州总检察长的协助下提起 预计将于2027年开庭审理[5]

监管处罚与和解 - 公司因涉嫌误导客户续订Prime会员服务而支付创纪录的25亿美元罚款以达成和解[1] - 罚款中有15亿美元将用于向客户退款[1] - 和解协议恰好在公司庭审开始之际达成[2] 监管机构指控 - 联邦贸易委员会指控公司使用复杂的订阅陷阱操纵消费者注册Prime会员[2] - 监管机构认为公司使消费者极难终止其订阅服务[2] - 联邦贸易委员会主席称此举是为数百万厌倦欺骗性订阅服务的美国人取得的历史性胜利[2] 事件状态 - 此事件仍在进展中[3]