Prime packages being delivered in New York City, on July 6, 2024. Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Amazon will soon have to refund some Prime members as part of a $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission – $1.5 billion of which will be returned directly to customers. It’s the FTC’s largest-ever settlement and the second-highest refund award in history.

The FTC said in a statement Thursday that Amazon “used sophisticated subscription traps” to trick online shoppers into enrolling in the company’s Prime services. It wrapped up a two-year dispute over the e-commerce giant allegedly manipulating consumers into signing up and then making it difficult for subscribers to cancel.

The FTC estimated that about 35 million customers were “harmed by (Amazon’s) deceptive P

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