The facts
The FTC’s 2022 report on dark patterns describes the usual tricks: cancellation mazes, hidden fees, screens that nudge you into giving up more data. It is a catalog of asshole design, not a finding that every annoying website is illegal.
In October 2024 the FTC announced a “click-to-cancel” rule: if you could sign up in a click, you should be able to leave the same way.
Amazon already got hit in the wallet. The FTC’s refund page for Prime says a $2.5 billion settlement: $1.5 billion for customer refunds, a $1 billion civil penalty, and an order to knock off the enrollment and cancellation tricks. Eligible Prime customers could get up to $51 back.
Our take
A company that can take your money in ten seconds can stop taking it without a phone tree, a guilt trip, and a pop-up that asks if you are sure, are you really sure, would you like 30 percent off your own dignity.
Friction on the way out is not an accident. It is the business model. They A/B tested how long you would stay trapped.
Amazon writing a historic check over Prime should have been the funeral for this shit. It was not. Half the internet still buries Cancel under Account, then Settings, then “we’re sad to see you go,” then a chat bot named Luna. Luna can get fucked. Put the button where the subscribe button was.
