On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against Amazon began what was expected to be a lengthy trial. By Thursday, Amazon agreed to a whopping $2.5 billion settlement for misleading customers who signed up for Amazon Prime.The FTC said $1.5 billion will go into a fund to repay eligible subscribers, with the remaining $1 billion collected as a civil penalty. The settlement requires Amazon to add a "clear and conspicuous" option to decline Prime during checkout and to simplify the cancellation proce ...

Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission over claims that it tricked millions of people into signing up for Prime, its paid subscription service, and made cancellation too difficult. The FTC said $1.5 billion will go into a fund to repay eligible subscribers, with the remaining $1 billion as a civil penalty. The settlement requires Amazon to add a "clear and conspicuous" option to decline Prime during checkout and to simplify the cancellation process."Amazo ...

Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a lawsuit alleging it misled customers into paying for Prime subscriptions, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Thursday. The announcement came days into a trial between the tech giant and the FTC. Under the terms of the settlement, Amazon will be required to pay a $1 billion civil penalty, provide $1.5 billion in refunds to consumers, and cease any unlawful enrollment and cancellation practices for Prime.The settlement figure is less than 1% of Amazo ...

It’s a different kind of Amazon trial — not the kind that lets you try out the product. On Monday, a jury in Seattle will begin hearing a case that could change how Amazon runs Prime, its $139-a-year subscription. Some 200 million people worldwide subscribe to Prime for quick shipping, streaming entertainment, closely-watched Prime Day deals , and other membership benefits — with the majority of customers concentrated in the U.S.. For Amazon, Prime represents a business worth over $40 billion in annual ...

亚马逊订阅政策诉讼案 - 亚马逊订阅取消政策本周将面临陪审团审判[1] - 联邦贸易委员会2023年起诉亚马逊涉嫌欺骗用户注册Prime会员 包括隐瞒账单详情和免费试用条款[2] - 监管机构要求民事处罚 消费者退款及法院禁令禁止使用误导性订阅实践[3] 公司立场与行业影响 - 亚马逊否认所有指控 声称始终明确Prime条款并提供直接取消方式[3] - 明尼苏达大学法学教授指出涉案策略在电商领域普遍存在 亚马逊作为美国最大零售商之一受到重点关注[4] - 若被判违法将引发全行业关注 该领域已引起广泛消费者不满和监管活动[5] 监管背景与市场环境 - 联邦贸易委员会此次诉讼属于打击"黑暗模式"专项行动 即企业牺牲消费者利益操纵行为的策略[5] - 经济不确定性促使零售商创造更多小型购物节 无需月度活动仅需足够促销窗口刺激消费[7] - Prime会员日销售活动兼具杠杆作用和试金石功能 用于测试消费意愿和品类热度以指导假日库存投资[6]

文章核心观点 - 研究揭示Netflix自动播放功能虽带来便利但可能影响用户时间控制和决策，平台需重新思考该功能的集成方式以平衡用户便利与自主性 [1][8] 自动播放功能影响 - 自动播放是现代流媒体平台常见功能，减少用户观看阻碍，但可能使用户失去时间概念、观看超量内容并导致不良行为 [1][6] - 关闭自动播放后，参与者每次观看Netflix的时长平均减少18分钟，因继续观看需更多操作，促使其更有意识地决定是否停止观看 [4][5] 用户反馈 - 约一半参与者因便利想重新开启自动播放，约三分之一参与者体验反思时间后打算保持关闭 [7] 设计改进建议 - 流媒体平台应重新思考自动播放功能在用户界面的集成方式，提供更精细控制，如默认关闭或注册时让用户选择 [8] - 未来可让用户指定自动播放集数或延长播放前倒计时时间 [9] 伦理和监管影响 - 自动播放可能是“黑暗模式”设计，影响用户决策和自主性，尤其对儿童有伦理和监管方面的影响 [7][10] - 监管机构加强审查，需保护用户免受操纵行为影响，更多量化研究有助于增强消费者保护 [11][13]