(LibertySociety.com) – Amazon is facing a $5 million class action lawsuit from a Prime subscriber for allegedly misleading customers who were enjoying ad-free programming as one of the perks of their subscription. In 2023, Amazon shifted subscribers to the company’s ad-supported tier. With the change, subscribers were then offered an opportunity in January to pay an additional $2.99 to have ads removed. The February 9 complaint, filed in a federal court in California, claims that subscribers are now required to pay more “to get something they already paid for.” Many subscribers had already paid their annual memberships, which meant that they had already secured a year’s worth of ad-free streaming.
The lawsuit also scolds the retail giant for benefiting illegally from claiming that Prime Video did not have advertisements. The plaintiff is seeking monetary relief and asked the court to order the company to stop marketing its video services as ad-free. California resident Wilbert Napoleon brought the lawsuit on behalf of every Amazon Prime customer who was misled by the company. Napoleon argues that the company’s change in its terms violated California and Washington’s consumer protection laws. Napoleon paid his annual subscription in June 2023. When the company changed its terms, he began seeing advertisements. He believes that his subscription should have included ad-free streaming until it expired the following year.
Subscribers who paid their annual membership before December 28, 2023, would benefit from the court ruling in favor of Napoleon. The complaint argues that Amazon could change course and honor its original terms for subscribers. The lawsuit also demands “the right to a jury trial on all claims so triable.”
Outside of the lawsuit headache, some Prime subscribers canceled their subscriptions after the release of a controversial cartoon called “Hazbin Hotel.” A report from The Western Journal revealed how the show glorifies worshipping Satan and distorts the creation of the world and man. Other subscribers are frustrated that Amazon Video removed high-quality audio options, such as Dolby, from tiers that did not pay the additional $2.99.
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