Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission over claims that it tricked millions of people into signing up for Prime, its paid subscription service, and made cancellation too difficult.

The FTC said $1.5 billion will go into a fund to repay eligible subscribers, with the remaining $1 billion as a civil penalty. The settlement requires Amazon to add a "clear and conspicuous" option to decline Prime during checkout and to simplify the cancellation process.

"Amazon and our executives have always followed the law and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers," Mark Blafkin, Amazon senior manager, said in a statement . "We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or

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