Finally, Amazon is fined 1.2 billion yen for deceiving consumers with malicious 'dark patterns'
The Polish government has announced that it will impose a fine of 31,850,141 zlotys (approximately 1.2 billion yen) on Amazon EU Sarl, Amazon's European headquarters. Authorities have accused Amazon of betraying the trust of consumers by accepting orders and making them pay for the products without even shipping them.
31 mln zł kary dla Amazon
Amazon fined in Poland for dark pattern design tricks | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/27/amazon-dark-pattern-design-fine/
According to Poland's Competition and Consumer Protection Agency (UOKiK), the agency has received a series of complaints about items ordered on Amazon but not delivered. For example, in one case, a user ordered an e-book reader, paid for it, received an email from Amazon confirming the order, and then the order was canceled a month later.
The root cause of this problem is that Amazon sets the sales contract to be concluded when the product is notified of shipment, rather than when payment is received. What's more, Amazon didn't clearly communicate this to customers, with information about the contract only being hidden in gray font on a white background on the final purchase page.
In addition, Amazon displays the remaining inventory and when the order will be received in the form of ``2 items left'' or ``Please order within 2 hours and 38 minutes'', which encourages users to order quickly. Apply pressure.
However, according to UOKiK, Amazon often does not adhere to these deadlines, and sometimes shipments are delayed due to out-of-stock items, or even not shipped at all.
Regarding this, UOKiK said, ``Amazon misleads consumers about the moment when a sales contract is concluded, and this can have negative consequences for many people, because if the consumer does not receive the product, You will no longer have the opportunity to use it or to purchase it at the attractive price it would have been available to you, as your money will be frozen until it is refunded.'
UOKiK, which has been investigating complaints about Amazon since September 2021, began a formal investigation into Amazon's business practices in February 2023. As a result of the investigation, we determined that Amazon was infringing on the collective interests of consumers and ordered Amazon to pay 31,850,141 zlotys.
Tomasz Krosny, Director General of UOKiK, said: ``This decision is a serious threat to consumers, including putting pressure on them by showing timers on when to order, even though there is no guarantee of delivery on time.'' 'This points out the so-called 'dark pattern', which is Amazon's deceptive behavior. Companies must adhere to specific delivery deadlines that they have specified.'
In response, Amazon said in a statement released through the media: 'In 2023, we proposed several voluntary amendments to work with UOKiK to continue improving the customer experience on Amazon.pl. 'We strictly adhere to the legal standards of all countries in which we operate and we completely disagree with the assessment and penalties announced by UOKiK. We will appeal this decision.' He indicated his intention to fight the case in court.
Dark patterns, which are designed to deceive users, have been a problem for Amazon for some time, and in June 2023, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission declared that using dark patterns to direct users to Amazon Prime was illegal. Commission (FTC) is suing Amazon.
FTC sues Amazon for deceiving consumers into signing up for Prime membership with ``dark patterns'' - GIGAZINE
Related Posts:
in Web Service, Posted by log1l_ks