What happened
01
Checkout buttons did not make clear they also enrolled you in Prime.
02
Cancelling went through many steps, internally called “Iliad”.
03
Settlement: a $1 billion penalty and $1.5 billion in refunds to about 35 million customers.
04
Amazon said it has always followed the law.
Why this is a design failure
Not AI, but the same pattern is moving into assistants: easy to get in, hard to get out.
The fair design
Cancelling is as easy as signing up, and the decline button is as clear as accept.
Do
Make cancelling as easy as signing up.
Don’t
Don’t hide cancel behind many steps.
Company response
Amazon said it has “always followed the law” and agreed to simplify cancellation.