Did Amazon trick people into paying for Prime? Federal case goes to trial

Did Amazon trick people into paying for Prime? Federal case goes to trial

Alina Selyukh

Monica Nickelsburg

Joshua McNichols

September 23, 2025 / 2:01 am

Amazon and the U.S. government are facing off in a Seattle courtroom over Prime, the company's lucrative subscription service. The government alleges that the company "tricked" people into paying for Prime memberships that were purposefully hard to cancel.

The lawsuit marks one of the biggest federal cases pursuing one of the world's largest companies. Somewhat unusually for a dense antitrust case, a jury will determine whether Amazon broke the law. Oral arguments are expected to begin on Tuesday in the trial that's slated to last for nearly a month.

The Federal Trade Commission has accused Amazon of violating consumer-protectio