The file
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company

Amazon

Online retailer behind the Prime subscription service

Entries
23
On the record
15
Stories
2
Latest entry
Nov 5, 2026

The record

Compiled by the MrScandal desk from the documents below ยท Desk editor Laima ฤ’rkลกฤทe-Kreicberga ยท Nov 10, 2026

The Amazon settlement most people search for is the $2.5 billion deal that ended the Federal Trade Commission's Prime case in September 2025: a $1 billion civil penalty plus a $1.5 billion refund fund for Prime customers the FTC said were signed up without consent, or blocked from cancelling, between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025. Refunds are automatic. By September 2026 Amazon had issued more than $845 million in refunds, and a court-approved revision that month raised the most one customer can receive from $51 to $200, opened payments from October 1, 2026 to members who used 11 to 20 Prime benefits in a year, and added a round of up to $149 for earlier recipients, starting by the end of April 2027, if less than $1 billion has been accepted. Claims closed on July 27, 2026.

The FTC's larger case against Amazon is still open. Filed in September 2023 with 17 states, it accuses the company of keeping monopoly power through anti-discounting tactics and by tying Prime eligibility for sellers' products to its own fulfillment service. Judge John H. Chun refused to dismiss the case outright in September 2024, and in October 2026 he turned down Amazon's request to push the trial back to June 2027, keeping it on March 29, 2027, MLex reported. A third FTC suit, filed on August 31, 2026 with 22 states, alleges Amazon quietly inflated the prices advertisers paid in its sponsored-ad auctions. Amazon says it disputes the allegations.

Earlier federal orders were smaller: $61.7 million in 2021 over tips withheld from Amazon Flex drivers, and in 2023 a $25 million civil penalty over children's Alexa voice recordings and $5.8 million in refunds from its Ring camera unit. In Europe, Luxembourg's highest administrative court annulled a 746 million euro data protection fine in March 2026 and sent the case back to the regulator, while an Italian court cut a 1.128 billion euro competition fine to 752 million euros, a ruling Amazon has appealed. In Washington, D.C., the attorney general's 2021 antitrust suit was revived on appeal in 2024, and a separate Prime delivery case settled for $8.25 million in October 2026.

Questions people ask

How much is the Amazon Prime settlement payment?

Each eligible customer can receive at most $200 in total. Earlier rounds refunded Prime fees up to $51, and if less than $1 billion has been accepted when the fund is reconciled in March 2027, people who already accepted a payment get a pro rata share of up to $149 more, starting by the end of April 2027. source

Who qualifies for the Amazon Prime refund?

U.S. Prime customers who, between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025, signed up through one of four challenged enrollment flows or tried and failed to cancel online, and who used no more than 20 Prime benefits in any 12-month period. No claim form is needed for the remaining payments. source

Is the Amazon refund email or call a scam?

The FTC says it is not contacting people about these refunds and that no one from Amazon will ever ask for money to get one. Payments arrive as a mailed check or a PayPal or Venmo payment and expire 60 days after they are issued. source

When is the Amazon antitrust trial?

The FTC's monopolization case is set for trial on March 29, 2027 in the Western District of Washington. In October 2026 Judge John H. Chun turned down Amazon's request to move it to June 2027, according to MLex. source

What is the new FTC lawsuit against Amazon about advertising?

Filed on August 31, 2026 with 22 states, it alleges Amazon told advertisers it ran second-price auctions while adding an undisclosed surcharge it called a soft reserve price, so that Sponsored Products advertisers paid their own winning bid about 80 percent of the time by 2024. source

Roles and honours on the record

  • 2018-present Owner of Ring LLC, the home security camera company it bought in February 2018 source
  • 2023-2025 Defendant, FTC v. Amazon.com, Inc., W.D. Wash. No. 2:23-cv-0932 (Prime enrollment and cancellation), resolved by stipulated order source
  • 2023-present Defendant, FTC et al. v. Amazon.com, Inc., W.D. Wash. No. 2:23-cv-01495 (monopolization) source
  • 2025-2027 Payer of the $1.5 billion Prime consumer fund, distributed under a claims supervisor's oversight through 2027 source
  • as of 2026 Defendant in the FTC and 22 states' advertising-auction suit in W.D. Wash. and a parallel Texas suit in Collin County source

Settlements: who qualifies and the payout

Every entry, newest first

Last entry Sep 2025
  1. Filed

    FTC says Amazon agreed to a $1 billion penalty and $1.5 billion in refunds; proposed order filed in federal court. Biggest FTC settlements ranked: Facebook $5B, Amazon Prime

  2. Reported

    An Amazon spokesperson told Ars Technica Ring addressed the issues years ago, before the FTC inquiry. Amazon Ring: FTC order seeks $5.8M over employee video access

Stories in this file

Amazon: $5.8M FTC paymentBusiness ยท 8h ago

โš–๏ธ Amazon Ring: FTC order seeks $5.8M over employee video access

The FTC says Ring let staff view customer videos; Ring denies breaking the law, and a judge's sign-off is unconfirmed.

Empty wood-panelled courtroom with the judge's bench and a US flag (stock photo)RANKEDPhoto: Zachary Caraway ยท Pexels License
Business ยท 4d ago

๐Ÿ’ฐ Biggest FTC settlements ranked: Facebook $5B, Amazon Prime

Facebook's $5B leads; Amazon's Prime order is a $1B penalty plus $1.5B in refunds, filed as a proposed order. Approval unconfirmed. โณ

The record, entry by entry

  1. 2021-02-02 Official Amazon agreed to pay $61,710,583 to settle FTC charges that it kept customer tips meant for Amazon Flex delivery drivers and used them to cover a lower hourly pay rate than it had promised, from late 2016 to August 2019. Federal Trade Commission, press release
  2. 2021-07-15 Ruled Luxembourg's data protection authority, the CNPD, fined Amazon Europe Core 746 million euros under the GDPR over data processing for interest-based advertising and ordered corrective measures backed by a daily penalty of 746,000 euros. Luxembourg judiciary, communique on the administrative tribunal judgment
  3. 2021-12-09 Ruled Italy's competition authority fined five Amazon companies 1.128 billion euros for abusing a dominant position, finding that Amazon tied the Prime label and other seller benefits on Amazon.it to use of its own logistics service, Fulfillment by Amazon. Italian Competition Authority (AGCM), press release, case A528
  4. 2022-09-15 Filed California's attorney general sued Amazon in San Francisco Superior Court, alleging that its restrictions on merchants' pricing suppress competition and keep online prices higher, in violation of the Unfair Competition Law and the Cartwright Act. Trial is set for January 19, 2027. California Attorney General, press release, April 16, 2026
  5. 2023-05-31 Official The FTC and the United States Department of Justice charged Amazon with violating the children's privacy rule by keeping children's Alexa voice recordings indefinitely and undermining parents' deletion requests; the proposed order carried a $25 million civil penalty. Federal Trade Commission, press release
  6. 2023-05-31 Official The FTC said Ring let employees and contractors access customers' private videos and failed to stop hackers who reached about 55,000 U.S. customers' accounts and cameras; under a proposed order filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., Ring would pay $5.8 million for refunds. Federal Trade Commission, press release
  7. 2023-06-21 Filed The FTC sued Amazon in federal court in Seattle, alleging it used deceptive designs to enroll consumers in Prime without consent and built a cancellation process meant to keep them from leaving; senior executives were added as defendants in an amended complaint on September 20, 2023. Federal Trade Commission, case page, FTC v. Amazon.com (ROSCA)
  8. 2023-09-26 Filed The FTC and 17 state attorneys general sued Amazon as a monopolist in online superstore and marketplace services markets, alleging it buries sellers that offer lower prices elsewhere and makes Prime eligibility depend on its fulfillment service. They seek a permanent injunction. Federal Trade Commission, press release
  9. 2024-08-22 Ruled The D.C. Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of the District of Columbia's 2021 antitrust suit, which challenges Amazon's price parity provision, the fair pricing policy that replaced it in 2019 and its minimum margin agreements, and sent the case back to Superior Court. District of Columbia Court of Appeals, opinion, No. 22-CV-0657
  10. 2024-09-30 Ruled Judge Chun granted in part and denied in part Amazon's motion to dismiss the FTC's monopolization case, keeping it alive; he dismissed three counts of the amended complaint in March 2025, and the case was then set for trial on February 9, 2027. FTC, Semiannual Federal Court Litigation Status Report, December 31, 2025
  11. 2025-03-18 Ruled Luxembourg's administrative tribunal rejected Amazon's challenge and upheld the 746 million euro fine and the corrective orders, finding violations of GDPR articles 6, 12 to 17 and 21. Luxembourg judiciary, communique
  12. 2025-06-23 Ruled In the Prime case, the court granted the FTC's motion for sanctions against Amazon over abuse of privilege claims; the jury trial began on September 22, 2025. FTC, Semiannual Federal Court Litigation Status Report, December 31, 2025
  13. 2025-09 Ruled Italy's administrative tribunal affirmed the competition authority's decision but reduced the fine to 752 million euros; Amazon, which had paid the original fine, appealed in December 2025. Amazon.com, Inc., Form 10-K for 2025, Legal Proceedings
  14. 2025-09-25 Ruled Judge John H. Chun entered a stipulated order requiring a $1 billion civil penalty, a $1.5 billion consumer fund and simple ways to cancel Prime through the same medium used to sign up. Amazon and executives Neil Lindsay and Jamil Ghani neither admitted nor denied the allegations. U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash., stipulated order, No. 2:23-cv-0932 (Dkt. 535)
  15. 2025-12-29 Official The automatic payout phase ended after Amazon released more than 12.5 million payments totaling over $406 million to customers who used no more than three Prime benefits a year; claim forms for the next group went out by January 28, 2026, and the last day to file was July 27, 2026. FTC and Amazon, stipulated motion and order on residual payouts (W.D. Wash.)
  16. 2026-03-12 Ruled Luxembourg's Cour administrative annulled the CNPD's 2021 decision in full and sent it back, because the regulator had not examined whether Amazon acted intentionally or negligently and had imposed a fine almost automatically. The court largely confirmed the GDPR violations themselves. Luxembourg judiciary, communique on Cour administrative ruling No. 52757C
  17. 2026-08-31 Filed The FTC and 22 states sued Amazon in federal court in Washington state, alleging it harmed advertisers through misrepresentations and unfair practices involving reserve prices in its sponsored-ad auctions; Texas filed a parallel suit. Amazon says it disputes the allegations. Amazon.com, Inc., Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, Legal Proceedings
  18. 2026-09-14 Ruled The court approved a joint FTC-Amazon motion on the remaining Prime refunds: automatic payments from October 1, 2026 to members who used 11 to 20 benefits a year, and a total cap of $200 per person. The FTC said Amazon had issued more than $845 million in refunds. Federal Trade Commission, press release, September 17, 2026
  19. 2026-10-01 Official Amazon agreed to pay $8.25 million, including $7.25 million in Prime refunds, to settle the D.C. attorney general's claim that it did not disclose delivery exclusions in ZIP codes 20019 and 20020, where over 69,000 Prime members had default addresses. Amazon denied the claims. D.C. Superior Court, consent judgment, No. 2024-CAB-007611
  20. 2026-10-09 Reported Judge Chun denied Amazon's request to delay the FTC monopolization trial to June 2027, writing that he had been preparing for the March 29, 2027 trial date. MLex report
  21. 2026-11-05 Official Newly unsealed parts of the advertising complaint allege Amazon raised ad prices by up to 50 percent above auction results on ordinary days and up to 250 percent on major shopping days such as Prime Day. Federal Trade Commission, press release

Documents

Sources behind this file

  1. FTC press release on Amazon Prime settlement ยท Regulator, Sep 2025
  2. Bloomberg report on Ring ending police requests ยท Report, Jan 24, 2024
  3. Ars Technica report on the FTC case and Ring's response ยท Report, Jun 1, 2023
  4. FTC press release on the Ring complaint and proposed order ยท Regulator, May 31, 2023
  5. FTC v. Ring LLC complaint, Case No. 1:23-cv-1549 ยท Court filing, May 31, 2023
  6. Reuters report on the Supreme Court AMG ruling ยท Report, Apr 22, 2021
  7. Harvard Journal of Law & Technology digest ยท Report, Mar 9, 2021
  8. TechCrunch report on the Always Home Cam ยท Report, Sep 24, 2020
  9. FTC case page on OMICS Group ยท Regulator, Apr 2019
  10. The Intercept report on Ring video access ยท Report, Jan 10, 2019
  11. VentureBeat report with Ring statement ยท Report, Jan 10, 2019
  12. FTC press release on the Money Now Funding settlement ยท Regulator, Dec 10, 2018

Connected files

  • Federal Trade Commission ยท U.S. agency that protects consumers and promotes competition ยท 1 shared story
  • Meta Platforms ยท Owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp ยท 1 shared story
  • Ring ยท Maker of video doorbells and home security cameras ยท 1 shared story
  • United States Department of Justice ยท US federal department led by the attorney general ยท named in the record