Amazon is being challenged by consumer watchdog groups in Europe and America for its deceptive use of the “dark pattern” to promote its Prime service.
Who Has Filed Complaint Against Amazon?
The Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) has found that registered users, if require, cancellation need to scroll through six pages and making several complex decisions.
It has filed a formal complaint with the Norwegian consumer protection authorities claiming that the project violates EU law.
In the US, the Public Citizen organisation has also filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. And consumer groups in France, Denmark, Germany, Greece, and Switzerland are also seeking action.
The Breach
A survey from the NCC states that in each of the six pages of cancellation, the buyer “is nudged towards keeping their Prime membership”
Pages include a yellow warning triangle with an exclamation point inside and buttons that contain the text “keep my benefits.”.
The watchdog also spoke to 1,000 Norwegian consumers about their experiences and found that one in four recalled having difficulties unsubscribing from digital content services.
Amazon has denied that the process was unfair or difficult.
Cancellation Process
Amazon Prime is a digital subscription service with more than 150 million members globally. It offers free and fast shipping of Amazon products, as well as access to other services such as Prime Video films and TV shows.
In the UK, it costs £79 a year or £7.99 a month.
In a statement, Amazon said it “makes it clear and easy for Prime members to cancel their subscription at any time, whether through a few clicks online, a quick phone call or by turning off auto renew in their membership options.
It added: “Customer trust is at the heart of all of our products and services and we reject the claim that our cancellation process is unfair or creates uncertainty. “The information we provide in the online cancellation flow gives a full view of the benefits and services members are cancelling.”
In 2019, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority ruled that one of Amazon’s page layouts was misleading and meant people could easily have signed up for Prime unintentionally.
The NCC’s director of digital policy, Finn Lutzow-Holm Myrstad, said: “It should be as easy to end a subscription as it was to subscribe in the first place.
“Amazon should facilitate a good user experience instead of hindering customers and tricking them into continuing paid service they do not need or want.”
Previously the watchdog has investigated Google and Facebook over their use of “dark patterns” in the design of their privacy polices.
It found that the documents often hid privacy-friendly options or forced users to take longer to sign up to them, with some settings obscured and pop-ups omitting key information.
