Amazon Prime may promise lightning-fast shipping and countless perks, but according to U.S. federal regulators, millions of customers got more than they put in their shopping baskets. Even more troubling, in some cases they signed up without fully realizing it. Now the online giant is paying a massive price: a record-breaking $2.5 billion settlement. That includes $1.5 billion in refunds for Prime members and another $1 billion in civil penalties. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says Amazon tricked pe ...

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 ...

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.” T ...