Amazon.com will pay $2.5 billion US in fines and payments to Prime subscribers to settle a Federal Trade Commission case alleging the retail juggernaut signed users up for the subscription without their consent, the U.S. regulatory agency said on Thursday.

Of that, $1.5 billion will go into a fund to repay an estimated 35 million consumers hit with unwanted Prime enrolment or deferred cancellation.

Amazon will not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, the FTC said.

As part of the settlement, Amazon has agreed to create a "clear and conspicuous" button to allow customers to decline a Prime subscription, and to make it easier to cancel. Amazon has also agreed to more clearly disclose the terms of a subscription during the enrolment process and to pay for an independent, third-party

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