Amazon is pushing back against a class-action lawsuit from Prime Video users who are upset about the streaming service now including ads by default.
As per Variety, the lawsuit was first filed in February 2024 by Prime Video users who accused Amazon of false advertising. They claim they were led to believe that their Prime memberships would include ad-free streaming, but Amazon recently added ads unless users pay an extra $2.99 per month.
In its defense, Amazon pointed to its terms and conditions. These state that Prime benefits can change at any time. The company claims they never guaranteed that any Prime feature would last forever. “Amazon never promised — to Prime members or anyone else — that Prime Video would be always, or entirely, ad-free,” they said. “We always disclosed that the bundle of Prime benefits is subject to change. In other words, Amazon never guaranteed that any particular Prime benefit would remain available indefinitely; it stated the opposite.”
Amazon added that Prime Video has included ads in some content. ” It has long included limited advertisements during live sports events and other content. But because Amazon understood that some people would prefer not to see ads, Amazon offered an option for Prime Video users to watch ad-free content for $2.99/month,” they said in the filing.
Amazon said Prime members got exactly what was promised — a streaming service with a large content library. They believe Prime Video is still a valuable service, even with ads.
The lawsuit, however, argues that it’s unfair to charge customers more to avoid ads as they had already paid for an ad-free experience. The plaintiffs claim Amazon’s actions are deceptive and are asking for monetary damages, as well as a court order to stop Amazon from requiring the extra fee for ad-free content.
Amazon asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit by saying that its terms of service allow changes in Prime benefits, and other courts have already ruled similarly in the past. The company also pointed out that none of the plaintiffs were subscribed to Prime Video’s stand-alone plan. This plan has its own terms that allow for price changes and give subscribers the option to cancel if they don’t agree with the fees.
The case is still ongoing, and Amazon is waiting to hear if the court will dismiss the lawsuit.
