The U.S. government is accusing Amazon of casting a digital dragnet that swept up millions of unwilling consumers into its Prime subscription service. A federal trial has now commenced to hear the evidence behind this claim, which centers on the company’s use of allegedly deceptive design tactics.
The Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit alleges that this “dragnet” was the company’s checkout process, which was laden with “dark patterns.” These manipulative designs allegedly made it difficult for users to navigate the purchasing process without getting caught in the Prime membership net, even if they had no intention of subscribing.
Once caught, escaping the net was another ordeal, according to the FTC. The “Iliad” cancellation process is being presented as a deliberately complex system of virtual knots and tangles, designed to ensure that as few subscribers as possible could break free.
This trial is a direct challenge to the growth-hacking techniques that have become common in the tech industry. The government is arguing that when these techniques cross the line into deception, they become an illegal dragnet that harms consumers.
Amazon is denying that it ever used a “dragnet.” The company’s defense is that it simply made a compelling offer for a valuable service. Its lawyers will contend that users actively chose to subscribe and were not unwillingly swept up by a deceptive system.
