Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle claims that it misled millions of customers into enrolling in its Prime service and made it difficult for them to cancel.

The Federal Trade Commission announced that $1.5 billion of the total will be refunded to customers who were unwittingly signed up for the subscription.

According to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, “The evidence showed that Amazon used sophisticated subscription traps designed to manipulate consumers into enrolling in Prime, and then made it exceedingly hard for consumers to end their subscription.” Ferguson added, “Today, we are putting billions of dollars back into Americans’ pockets, and making sure Amazon never does this again.”

The settlement comes just days after the trial began before a jury in Seattle and marks the largest civil penalty ever secured by the FTC. Amazon, which neither admitted nor denied the allegations, said it had “always followed the law” and that the settlement would allow the company to “move forward.”

Amazon spokesperson Mark Blafkin said the company has worked “incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership.” He added that the settlement allows Amazon to “focus on innovating for customers.”

The FTC targeted several Amazon practices, including pop-ups during checkout that repeatedly encouraged users to sign up for Prime, collecting billing information without clearly disclosing terms, and offering one-month trials that automatically enrolled customers without proper notice.

Internal Amazon documents showed that executives and employees were aware the company’s practices might be questioned, with comments such as “subscription driving is a bit of a shady world.”

An estimated 35 million U.S. customers affected by these practices between June 2019 and June 2025 could be eligible for refunds, with amounts up to $51.

Customers who used Prime benefits fewer than three times in a year will receive automatic refunds, while those who used it fewer than 10 times must file a claim. As part of the settlement, Amazon will remove buttons saying “No, I don’t want free shipping” and must implement an easy process for canceling Prime subscriptions.

However, critics argue the FTC’s settlement does not go far enough. Nidhi Hegde, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, said, “Enough with this game of whack-a-mole. If the Commission is serious about protecting people from deceptive subscription schemes, it should re-issue the Click-to-Cancel rule today.”