Amazon to pay $2.5 billion for allegedly duping millions to sign up for Prime

FILE PHOTO: A downtown building is wrapped in Amazon Prime advertising ahead of Comic-Con International, in San Diego, California, U.S. July 22, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

(Reuters) -Amazon.com will pay $2.5 billion in fines and reimbursements to Prime subscribers to settle the Federal Trade Commission's allegations that it deceived its customers to generate subscriptions, the FTC said on Thursday.

While a win for consumers and the FTC, the settlement is relatively painless for Amazon: the company takes in around $2.5 billion in sales every 33 hours. Shares of Amazon were nearly unchanged after the news.