Amazon Sets July 27 Deadline for $2.5 Billion FTC Settlement Claims

Q: Beyond the $2.5B settlement, what permanent design changes is Amazon now required to make?

Amazon must permanently overhaul how it signs people up for Prime and how it lets them cancel. Under the FTC settlement, the core requirement is to stop using the “dark pattern” designs challenged in the case. That means Amazon has to provide clear, upfront disclosures that Prime is a paid, auto-renewing subscription, obtain affirmative consent without confusing or manipulative prompts, and remove enrollment flows the FTC said steered users into joining unintentionally. The company also has to make cancellation simple and comparable to sign-up. In practice, that means no more multi-step, obstructive cancellation path like the internally named “Iliad” flow cited in the lawsuit. Customers must be able to find and complete cancellation through a straightforward process without repeated pressure screens, confusing detours, or unnecessary hurdles. More broadly, the redesign has to comply with the FTC’s standards for negative-option subscriptions under the FTC Act and ROSCA: clear disclosures, express informed consent, and an easy-to-use cancellation mechanism. So beyond paying $2.5 billion, Amazon’s lasting obligation is a permanent redesign of Prime enrollment and cancellation so the process is transparent, non-deceptive, and easy to exit.

3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 27

Eligible Amazon customers have 30 days left to file claims in the second payout phase of the company’s $2.5 billion FTC settlement, with payments of up to $51.
July 27 is the cutoff for customers who signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, and either failed to cancel or enrolled through challenged sign-up flows.
This phase is narrower: only customers who used Prime benefits 10 or fewer times in any 12-month enrollment period can submit claims, using an online portal or emailed form after receiving notice.
Amazon has 30 days to review approved submissions, and the settlement site says payments are expected by September after automatic first-wave payouts went out between Nov. 12 and Dec. 24, 2025.
The settlement stems from a 2023 FTC antitrust suit alleging Amazon pushed consumers into Prime and made cancellation difficult; Amazon denied wrongdoing.