Class Action Accuses Amazon Prime of “Dark Patterns”

* Taylor Lodise is a law clerk in the Litigation practice group.

On November 9, 2022, amidst ongoing investigations by the FTC regarding “dark patterns” that Amazon allegedly employed to discourage subscribers from canceling their Amazon Prime memberships, a class-action lawsuit named Amazon as a defendant. The lawsuit was filed in United States District Court for the Western District of Washington and is styled Dorobiala v. Amazon.com, Inc. Read More ›

Authority of Consumer Finance Protection Board Is Now Less Certain

Federal Court rules CFPB funding mechanism is unconstitutional Read More ›

FTC Seeks Comments on “Junk Fees” – Signaling a Renewed Focus on Supplemental Fees

On October 20, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking for a rule that would seek to address so called “junk fees” – unnecessary, unavoidable, or surprise charges that inflate costs while adding little to no value to consumers. Read More ›

FTC Reaches $100 Million Settlement With Vonage Over Subscription Practices

Internet phone service provider, Vonage, has agreed to pay $100 million to settle the Federal Trade Commission’s charges that it imposed fees and made it difficult for subscribers to cancel their service. Specifically, the FTC alleged that Vonage implemented “dark patterns” to create obstacles for subscribers looking to cancel their services, often resulting in consumers being charged even after they had requested cancellation. This settlement highlights the FTC’s continued focus on “dark pattern” marketing techniques, particularly as they are applied to cancellation of automatically renewing subscription arrangements. Read More ›