SEATTLE: A trial in federal court in Seattle set to begin this week will cut to the heart of how Amazon defines itself as a champion for the hundreds of millions of consumers who use its online shopping service.The Federal Trade Commission claims, in a lawsuit filed two years ago, that Amazon tricked tens of millions of people into signing up for its Prime membership program, and then made it hard for customers to cancel when they wanted out. “Amazon was aware for years that it was taking consumers’ money without their consent, yet chose to do nothing about it,” the FTC wrote in a recent court filing.Amazon, which denies those claims, hopes a jury will believe that customers signed up for Prime simply because they thought it was a good deal. “The way Amazon drives Prime subscribers is by making the service useful and valuable,” Mark Blafkin, an Amazon spokesperson, said in a statement. “And our approach works — Prime, with hundreds of millions of members, is among the highest performing subscription programs of any kind, as measured by renewal rates and customer satisfaction.”Though less sweeping than the FTC’s antitrust case against Amazon, the lawsuit targets the company for the way it runs a popular subscription program central to its business and ubiquitous in the lives of many of its customers. “The TrumpVance FTC intends to secure justice for Americans harmed by Amazon’s practices,” Joe Simonson, an FTC spokesperson, said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to the trial.”Since Prime was introduced two decades ago, it has grown into what the FTC called “the world’s largest subscription service.” Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, has long called it a “pillar” of the company. It costs $139 per year or $14.99 a month, and includes fast shipping, video streaming, discounts at Whole Foods, which Amazon owns, and other perks.“We want Prime to be such a good value, you would be irresponsible not to be a member,” Bezos wrote in 2016.Judge John H Chun of the US District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled last week that at least two senior executives, Neil Lindsay and Jamil Ghani, would be considered personally liable if a jury finds that Amazon violated the law. Amazon said the executives acted properly and put customers first.Jury selection was likely to begin Monday, with opening arguments starting Tuesday. The case is set to last for about a month. An estimated 200 million people in the US use Prime to shop on Amazon.
