Australia’s competition and consumer watchdog announced on Tuesday that it has initiated legal proceedings against Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), accusing the company of breaching consumer protection laws through its Prime Video service.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) claimed that Amazon incorporated unfair contractual terms into Prime subscription agreements and subsequently used those terms to introduce advertisements into the Prime Video streaming platform.
“Consumers who wanted to avoid advertising were forced to pay more in order to maintain the level of service they had originally signed up for,” said ACCC Chairperson Gina Cass-Gottlieb.
According to the ACCC, from November 2023 through August 2025, Amazon Prime’s contracts contained five unfair terms, which the company relied upon when it introduced ads into Prime Video in July 2024.
Subscribers had to pay an additional A$2.99 per month to keep their viewing experience ad-free, even though they had already paid $79 upfront for the service, the ACCC noted.
The regulator stated that it is seeking court rulings, fines, consumer compensation, legal costs, and other remedies, but did not specify the nature of the compensation being demanded.
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment sent by email.
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