Fashion
Amazon to pay $2.5 billion to settle legal case over misleading Prime subscriptions
Published
September 27, 2025
Amazon has agreed to make a one-off $2.5 billion payment to settle the U.S. court case in which the online retail giant was accused of deceiving tens of millions of consumers into subscribing to its Prime service.
Under the agreement reached between Amazon and the U.S. consumer protection authority (FTC), the Seattle-based company will pay $1.5 billion to compensate affected subscribers, while a further $1 billion will be paid to the US Treasury as a penalty.
“Today, the FTC (…) has won a monumental and unprecedented victory for the millions of Americans weary of deceptive subscriptions that seem impossible to cancel,” said FTC Commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson in a statement.
“Amazon and our executives have always respected the law, and this agreement allows us to move forward and focus on innovation to serve our customers,” the company said in a statement, which, through this agreement, avoids a conviction or any admission of the allegations.
In 2024, Amazon was the leading fashion retailer in the United States, capturing 16.2% of the U.S. apparel market. A category that, along with high-tech, is among the marketplace’s flagship offerings. In France, Amazon is the third-biggest clothing retailer by volume, across all channels, behind Vinted and Kiabi, according to the new consumer barometer from the Institut Français de la Mode.
“Dark patterns” to fool customers
This case is part of a series of recent lawsuits brought in the U.S. under both Democratic and Republican administrations to curb the unchecked dominance of several major technology companies, such as Google and Apple, after years of governmental leniency. With regard to Prime, the FTC brought this action in 2023, accusing Amazon of knowingly deploying manipulative interfaces, known as “dark patterns”, so that, at the point of purchase, consumers would also subscribe to the Prime service for $139 per year.
This paid subscription offers a number of additional services, including free, fast delivery, discounts in certain supermarkets and access to Amazon’s video platform. The company faced two main allegations: that it gained subscribers without their explicit consent, by making it very difficult to click the right buttons to refuse the subscription, and that it created a deliberately complex cancellation system, internally nicknamed “Iliad”, after Homer’s poem about the long and difficult Trojan War.
Amazon promises change
Amazon was also accused of charging its customers before disclosing the full terms and conditions of the subscription. The case began on Monday with a jury trial in federal court in Seattle, presided over by Judge John Chun. Judge Chun is also overseeing another case brought by the FTC against Amazon, this time alleging an illegal monopoly. This other case will go to trial in 2027.
Under the terms of the agreement reached on Thursday, Amazon has committed to obtaining explicit consent before any subscription or charge, and to simplifying cancellation procedures, under a protocol it must follow for ten years. Amazon has consistently disputed the allegations, saying it has improved its sign-up and cancellation processes. Last week, Judge Chun also found that Amazon had violated an online shopper protection law by collecting billing data from Prime subscribers before explaining the terms of use.
The FTC based its case in part on the ROSCA Act, which came into force in 2010 and prohibits charging for online services that are activated by default, without clearly stating the terms, without obtaining explicit customer consent, and without providing simple cancellation procedures.
(with AFP)
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Fashion
Vietnam targets GDP growth of at least 10% in 2026
The Ministry of Finance is giving the final touches to a draft resolution that lays out an initial road map to achieve these numbers.
Vietnam’s National Assembly recently approved several socio-economic targets for next year that include GDP growth of at least 10 per cent, GDP per capita of $5,400-$5,500, a rise in consumer price index of around 4.5 per cent and labour productivity gains of 8.5 per cent.
Exports are expected to rise by about 8 per cent in 2026, while retail sales of goods and services are targeted to rise by 11 per cent.
Total social investment is projected at nearly 4.93 quadrillion VND ($189 billion)—up by 18.7 per cent year on year (YoY) and equivalent to 33-33.7 per cent of GDP.
Exports are expected to rise by about 8 per cent in 2026, delivering a trade surplus of around $28 billion, while retail sales of goods and services are targeted to rise by 11 per cent, with a stretch target of 12 per cent.
Industrial hubs like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Da Nang and Dong Nai are also chasing double-digit gains.
Less affluent provinces like Son La, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Vinh Long, Dong Thap and Ca Mau are also targeting 8-per cent or better regional GDP growth, a domestic news agency reported.
The National Assembly has outlined 11 key task groups and solutions. The government has instructed relevant agencies to break these down into concrete, actionable plans under the resolution.
Core focuses include accelerating institutional reforms for greater transparency, consistency and equity in investment and business rules to unlock productive forces and pool resources; advancing a new growth model and economic restructuring; and ensuring timely delivery of strategic and critical infrastructure projects.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Fashion
China’s electricity demand remains robust in November
Power use rose 6.2 per cent year on year (YoY) to 835.6 billion kilowatt-hours in November. Electricity consumption in the secondary industry increased by 4.4 per cent, reflecting stable industrial activity.
China’s electricity consumption grew steadily in November, indicating resilient economic activity, as per official data.
Power use rose 6.2 per cent YoY to 835.6 billion kilowatt-hours, with secondary industry consumption up 4.4 per cent.
Residential demand increased 9.8 per cent.
In the first eleven months, total electricity consumption climbed 5.2 per cent YoY to about 9.46 trillion kilowatt-hours.
Residential electricity uses also remained robust, rising 9.8 per cent to 105.7 billion kilowatt-hours during the month, as per Chinese media reports.
In the first eleven months of the year, China’s total electricity consumption grew 5.2 per cent YoY to approximately 9.46 trillion kilowatt-hours, pointing to sustained demand despite broader economic challenges.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
Fashion
Climate change may hit RMG export earnings of 4 nations by 2030: Study
This translates to a 22-per cent reduction in export earnings versus a climate-adaptive scenario.
The apparel industries in Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan and Bangladesh may lose up to $65.8 billion in export earnings by 2030 and create a million fewer jobs due to the impact of climate changes if they make no efforts to manage heat stress and higher flooding, a study revealed.
Under the no-adaptation scenario, estimates for export earnings by 2050 are 68.8 per cent lower than in the adaptation scenario.
The estimates for 2050 are even worse. With the compounding effect of slower growth under the no-adaptation scenario, estimates for export earnings are 68.8 per cent lower than in the adaptation scenario.
The analysis also predicts that in these four countries, the employment levels in a no-adaptation scenario would be 8.64 million lower in 2050 than in the adaptative scenario.
The International Labour Organization’s Better Work team offered inputs for the study.
Extreme weather is already disrupting production, delaying orders and threatening workers’ health and incomes. As heat waves and floods become more severe and frequent, worker health, productivity, job creation, and earnings are increasingly at risk, Better Work said in a release.
Despite these challenges, there is reason for optimism. Action is under way across the apparel sector. Governments are introducing and enforcing new standards on workplace heat, ventilation, rest breaks, and access to water.
Global brands are adopting voluntary standards to better manage extreme heat and flooding risks across their supply chains. Manufacturers are training workers to identify and respond to heat stress and related illnesses.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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