Amazon will pay billions of dollars to settle with the Federal Trade Commission over claims that the company had tricked customers into signing up for its Prime membership and then made it difficult to cancel.
The Associated Press reported that Amazon will pay $1 billion in civil penalties and $1.5 billion to consumers who unintentionally signed up for the membership and could not cancel.
The civil penalty is an FTC record, the largest in the agency’s history.
Amazon does not admit that it did anything wrong.
In addition to the fines, Amazon will have to change the Prime interface and have an easy way for customers to cancel the membership, The Wall Street Journal reported.
As for how much consumers could see, The New York Times reported that it could be $51 if they qualify. Details on how to claim a portion of the settlement have not been released as of Thursday morning.
The case against the online retail juggernaut was filed two years ago, but the trial started in Seattle this week.