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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
`AT SEATTLE
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`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
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`CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT
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`Plaintiff,
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`v.
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`THOMAS DOROBIALA,
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`
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`AMAZON.COM, INC., a Delaware
`corporation,
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`Defendant.
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`
`
`COMPLAINT
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 2 of 22
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`I.
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`II.
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`TABLE OF CONTENTS
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`Page
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`INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................1
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`JURISDICTION .............................................................................................................11
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`III.
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`VENUE ...........................................................................................................................11
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`IV.
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`PARTIES ........................................................................................................................12
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`A.
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`B.
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`Plaintiff ...............................................................................................................12
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`Defendant Amazon .............................................................................................12
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`V.
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`STATEMENT OF FACTS .............................................................................................12
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`VI.
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`CLASS ACTION ALLEGATIONS ...............................................................................16
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`VII. CHOICE OF LAW .........................................................................................................18
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`VIII. CLAIM FOR RELIEF ....................................................................................................18
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`COUNT I VIOLATIONS OF THE WASHINGTON CONSUMER
`PROTECTION ACT (WASH. REV. CODE §§ 19.86.010, ET SEQ) ...........................18
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`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED ......................................................................................................19
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`PRAYER FOR RELIEF .............................................................................................................20
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`COMPLAINT - i
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 3 of 22
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`Plaintiff alleges the following based on personal knowledge as to his own acts and
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`experiences and, as to all other matters, based on the investigation of counsel:
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`I.
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`INTRODUCTION
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`1.
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`Amazon, the largest online retailer in the United States, is open to all shoppers, but
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`it offers benefits, including free shipping on Prime items, to its 163 million U.S. subscribers.1
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`Globally, Amazon collects $25 billion a year in Prime subscription fees with U.S. subscribers
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`accounting for about three-quarters of its subscription revenue.2 Amazon values its Prime members
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`not only for the subscription fees it collects from them, currently $139 a year, but also because
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`Prime members spend more than twice as much as other Amazon customers, averaging about
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`$1,400 per year.3
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`2.
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`Having so many Prime members also increases Amazon’s share of online retail
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`12
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`commerce. On average Prime members in the U.S. do 53% of their shopping online and make
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`most of their online purchases on Amazon.4 Among Prime members, 92% look forward to being
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`able to order all goods through one retailer and 93% are more likely to buy from Amazon Prime
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`than directly from a retailer’s online site.5
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`3.
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`Amazon also values Prime members for the wealth of data they provide Amazon.6
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`As the Guardian reports, “whether it’s the shopping app, the Kindle e-reader, the Ring doorbell,
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`Echo smart speaker or the Prime streaming service,” the more you use them, “the more their
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`algorithms can infer what kind of person you are and what you are most likely to buy next.”7
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`1 David Chang, The average Amazon Prime member spends this much per year, MOTLEY FOOL (July 22, 2022),
`https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/personal-finance/articles/the-average-amazon-prime-member-spends-this-much-
`per-year/.
`2 Brian Dean, Amazon Prime User and Revenue Statistics (2022), BACKLINKO (Jan. 5, 2022),
`https://backlinko.com/amazon-prime-users.
`3 Chang, supra note 1.
`4 Patrick Munden, The Amazon Prime Effect - setting a new standard for customer loyalty, WUNDERMAN
`THOMPSON, https://www.wundermanthompson.com/insight/the-amazon-prime-effect (last accessed Nov. 8, 2022).
`5 Id.
`6 Kate O’Flaherty, The data game: what Amazon knows about you and how to stop it, THE GUARDIAN (Feb. 27,
`2022), https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/feb/27/the-data-game-what-amazon-knows-about-you-and-
`how-to-stop-it.
`7 Id.
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`COMPLAINT - 1
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 4 of 22
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`4.
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`Because Prime members are so valuable to Amazon, it is loath to let them go. And
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`it shows. Cancelling Prime “requires multiple steps of confirmation offers before one can
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`ultimately pull the plug on the ongoing fee.”8 In effect, the process tests the Prime member’s will
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`to quit Amazon.
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`5.
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`The hurdles to cancellation are intentional. In March 2022, Business Insider
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`reviewed internal Amazon documents admitting that for several years and continuing today,
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`Amazon has engaged in willfully deceptive practices to keep its Prime members locked into their
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`memberships.9 The documents refer to a secret project known as “Project Iliad,” which Amazon
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`implemented to thwart Prime membership cancellations by adding multiple layers of questions
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`10
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`and new offers before a Prime member could cancel their subscription.10 The project was a success.
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`After launching Project Iliad, Amazon managed to reduce the number of Prime cancellations by
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`14% at one point in 2017 as fewer members managed to reach the final cancellation page.11
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`6.
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`This layered and confusing cancellation process relies on “dark patterns,” i.e.,
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`methods of deception derived from behavioral psychology that exploit cognitive biases to
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`influence and manipulate consumer choices. “Dark patterns are design features used to deceive,
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`steer, or manipulate users into behavior that is profitable for an online service, but often harmful
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`to users or contrary to their intent . . . . This could include using buttons with the same style but
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`different language, a checkbox with double negative language, disguised ads, or time pressure
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`designed to dupe users into clicking, subscribing, consenting, or buying.”12
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`7.
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`As explained in a January 2021 report by the Norwegian Consumer Council,
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`Amazon employs dark patterns in the wording, graphic design, and redundancies which Amazon
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`8 Gerald Lynch, Amazon Prime memberships are now harder to cancel – and it’s no accident, TECH RADAR
`(Mar. 17, 2022), https://www.techradar.com/news/amazon-prime-memberships-are-now-harder-to-cancel-and-its-
`no-accident.
`9 Hannah Towey & Eugene Kim, Amazon used a sneaky tactic to make it harder to quit Prime and
`cancellations dropped 14%, according to leaked data, BUSINESS INSIDER (Mar. 16, 2022),
`https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-project-iliad-made-cancel-prime-membership-harer-leaked-data-2022-3.
`10 Id.
`11 Id.
`12 Rohit Chopra, Statement of Commissioner Rohit Chopra Regarding Dark Patterns in the Matter of Age of
`Learning, Inc., FTC File No. 1723186 (Sept. 2, 2020), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/
`public_statements/1579927/172_3086_abcmouse_-_rchopra_statement.pdf.
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`COMPLAINT - 2
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
`
`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 5 of 22
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`employs to make its cancellation process needlessly difficult, time-consuming, and frustrating to
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`users.13 To begin with, whereas signing up with Amazon is simple and intuitive, cancellation
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`involves navigating through three pages or “clicks,” just to start the process. Users who want to
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`unsubscribe first need to log in to their Amazon account, navigate to the Amazon account menu,
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`and find the “Prime membership” option:14
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`13 Forbrukerrådet, You Can Log Out, But You Can Never Leave. How Amazon manipulates consumers to keep
`them subscribed to Amazon Prime (Jan. 14, 2021), https://storage.forbrukerradet.no/media/wp-
`content/uploads/2021/01/2021-01-14-you-can-log-out-but-you-can-never-leave-final.pdf.
`14 Complaint filed against Amazon by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) with the D.C. Attorney
`General, at Figures E-G (Feb. 23, 2021), available at https://epic.org/privacy/dccppa/amazon/EPIC-Complaint-In-
`Re-Amazon.pdf (hereafter “EPIC Complaint”).
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`COMPLAINT - 3
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 6 of 22
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`8.
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`Notably, the third page, which the user gets to by clicking the “Manage
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`membership” button, is confusingly labeled “Membership Sharing” and prompts the user in the
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`first instance to “Share your benefits,” whereas the “End Membership” button is at the bottom of
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`the page after the prompt “Remind me before renewing.” This pattern of multiple redundant layers
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`and needless sidetracks, which Amazon uses throughout the cancellation process, is a dark pattern
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`known as a “‘roach motel,’ where it is easy to get in, but almost impossible to escape.”15 Whereas
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`signing up with Amazon requires only a few clicks, that is not the case for cancellation.16
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`9.
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`The “End Membership” button is also accompanied by a warning that “[b]y ending
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`your membership you will lose access to your Prime benefits.” This vague warning is an example
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`of a dark pattern known as confirm-shaming, which Amazon’s cancellation process also frequently
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`relies on.17 This dark pattern exploits a cognitive bias of loss aversion, where the disadvantages of
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`leaving a service appear more prominent than the advantages, so that individuals have a strong
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`15 EPIC Complaint ¶ 17 n.27 (quotation omitted).
`16 Id. ¶ 9.
`17 Forbrukerrådet, supra note 13, at 19.
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`COMPLAINT - 4
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 7 of 22
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`tendency to remain at the status quo (i.e., subscribed to the service).18 Amazon exploits the user’s
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`fear of missing out on benefits to undermine the user’s resolve to cancel the Prime membership.19
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`10.
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`After clicking on the “End Membership” button, canceling a Prime subscription
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`further requires multiple clicks, decisions, and confirmations. Prime members are required to
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`navigate as many as six additional webpages, and along the way Amazon provides confusing or
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`manipulative messages.20 Business Insider reported that when its reporter clicked on the “End
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`Membership” button, the first prompt said “don’t give up on movie night” and notified her of the
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`number of days left until the next billing cycle.21 The complaint filed by the Electronic Privacy
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`Information Center (EPIC) with the Attorney General of the District of Columbia reported similar
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`prompts:22
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`18 Id. at 6.
`19 Id. at 19.
`20 Emma Woollacott, Amazon Prime Too Hard To Cancel, Consumer Watchdog Complains, FORBES (Jan. 14,
`2021), https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawoollacott/2021/01/14/amazon-prime-too-hard-to-cancel-consumer-
`watchdog-complains/.
`21 Towey & Kim, supra note 9.
`22 EPIC Complaint, figure H.
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`COMPLAINT - 5
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 8 of 22
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`11.
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`Amazon continues with further confirm-shaming and visual interferences to divert
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`the Prime member from giving up his or her subscription.23 For example, clicking on any of the
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`warnings of lost benefits takes the user to a different Amazon page and stops the cancellation
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`process.24
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`12.
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`If Prime members persist, after scrolling past the list of benefits that will be lost,
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`they will be faced with multiple choices on the next page, along with further graphics and
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`description of Prime membership benefits.25
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`13.
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` The first button, which is colored bright blue, states “Use your benefits today.”
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`This is followed by three yellow buttons. The first yellow button, “Keep My Benefits,” cancels the
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`process, meaning that the user stays subscribed to Amazon Prime. The second yellow button,
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`“Cancel My benefits,” continues the process to unsubscribe. Here, Amazon creates uncertainty by
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`changing the names of the buttons. On a previous page, the cancellation button was neutrally titled
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`23Forbrukerrådet, supra note 13, at 21.
`24 Id. at 19.
`25 EPIC Complaint, figure I.
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`COMPLAINT - 6
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 9 of 22
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`“End Membership,” but on this page the user must select “Cancel My Benefits” to proceed to
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`cancellation. Changing the wording to “Cancel My Benefits” frames the option negatively and
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`uses confirm-shaming to make the user feel like they will lose out if they continue the process to
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`cancel the subscription.26 The third yellow button, “Remind Me Later,” is highlighted as a default
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`option, which further exploits the user’s bias towards the status quo: it does not require any action
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`by the user and offers to provide a reminder three days before the membership renews.27
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`14.
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`After clicking the “Cancel My Benefits” button, the user is taken to a new page,
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`where he or she is told how much money could be saved by switching to an annual membership
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`(if currently a monthly subscriber) or is prompted to switch to a monthly subscription (if currently
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`an annual subscriber): 28
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`26 Forbrukerrådet, supra note 13, at 20.
`27 Id. at 6.
`28 Forbrukerrådet, supra note 13, at 21; EPIC Complaint, figure J.
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`COMPLAINT - 7
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 10 of 22
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`15.
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`These pages include a yellow triangle with the accompanying warning that “Items
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`tied to your Prime membership will be affected if you cancel your membership.” It is not
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`immediately clear what benefits or items will be affected, and in what way, which is likely to
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`cause unease at the prospect of losing access to paid services (for example, purchased e-books or
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`movies). This warning is followed by another alert that “[b]y cancelling, you will no longer be
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`eligible for your unclaimed Prime exclusive offers,” along with more graphics, which the user
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`must scroll past to proceed to cancellation.
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`16.
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`The next page reiterates the prompt to switch subscription types: 29
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`17.
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`Like a previous page, it again offers three buttons to choose from, but this page
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`varies the language and presents the options in a slightly different order. The first two options,
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`“Keep My Membership” (no longer referring to the subscription as “Benefits”) and “Remind Me
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`29 EPIC complaint, figure K.
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`COMPLAINT - 8
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 11 of 22
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`Later” divert the user from the cancellation process. Clicking on “Continue to Cancel,” the third
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`button (on a previous page it was the second option) allows the user to continue the cancellation:
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`18.
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`The last prompt asks users to confirm the cancellation of their membership:30
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`19.
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`Amazon again combines the vague warnings of lost benefits with the option of
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`retaining the subscription or postponing the decision to a later date. The first three yellow buttons
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`on the page offer to pause or keep the membership, or be reminded later, and further down the
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`page are two final yellow buttons listing different options of when to cancel the membership.
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`30 Towey & Kim, supra note 9.
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`COMPLAINT - 9
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 12 of 22
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`Clicking on any of the warnings or the alternative means of managing the user’s membership (like
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`pausing the membership) takes the user to a different Amazon page and stops the cancellation
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`process.31
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`20.
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`At this point in the procedure, the user has already confirmed multiple times the
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`desire to cancel his or her Prime subscription. But unless the user clicks the “End Now” button on
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`this final page, the user remains subscribed with Amazon Prime.
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`21.
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`The consumer group, EPIC, describes Amazon’s convoluted cancellation process
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`as a misdirection designed to foster uncertainty about the choice to cancel Amazon Prime.32 EPIC
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`submitted a joint letter with other consumer groups to request that the FTC investigate Amazon’s
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`employment of dark patterns in the Amazon Prime subscription cancellation process, which the
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`agency acted on. 33 As part of its investigation, the FTC subpoenaed 20 current and former Amazon
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`employees and executives to testify, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and current Amazon
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`CEO Andy Jassy.34 As part of its probe, the FTC asked Amazon to identify its executives who use
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`disappearing messaging apps to talk about things like Prime program enrollment and cancellation
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`processes and to provide the agency a log of those messages.35
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`22.
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`At the same time as the FTC initiated proceedings in the United States, the EU
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`Commission also launched a probe into Amazon’s conduct.36 As part of its cooperation with
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`cancel button more clearly and shortening the explanatory text.37 This past July, to comply fully
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`31 Forbrukerrådet, supra note 13, at 19.
`32 EPIC complaint ¶14.
`33 EPIC, Press Release, D.C. Attorney General Files Antitrust Suit Against Amazon (May 25, 2021), available at
`https://epic.org/d-c-attorney-general-files-antitrust-suit-against-amazon/
`34 Marcy Gordon, Amazon: FTC probe hounding Bezos, execs; subpoenas too broad, AP WIRE, (Aug. 17, 2022)
`https://apnews.com/article/technology-amazoncom-inc-subpoenas-federal-trade-commission-
`5a2ab123f8b395b4bb19949c7a70ee90; Eugene Kim & Katie Canales, If Jeff Bezos or Amazon executives like CEO
`Andy Jassy used vanishing messages to discuss Prime, the FTC wants them handed over as it investigates the
`company’s sign-up tactics, YAHOO! (Aug. 16, 2022), https://www.yahoo.com/news/jeff-bezos-amazon-executives-
`ceo-203730883.html.
`35 Kim & Canales, supra note 37.
`36European Commission, Press Release, Consumer protection: Amazon Prime changes its cancellation
`practices to comply with EU consumer rules (July 1, 2022), https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/
`en/ip_22_4186.
`37 Id.
`
`COMPLAINT - 10
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
`
`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 13 of 22
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`with the agency, Amazon also eliminated distracting warnings that deterred consumers from
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`cancelling, so that European consumers can now cancel their Prime subscription within two
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`clicks, using a prominent and clear “cancel button.”38 However, these changes apply only to
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`Prime members in Amazon’s European online marketplaces. Amazon’s dark patterns continue
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`unabated in the U.S.39
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`II.
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`JURISDICTION
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`23.
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`This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act
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`of 2005, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d) because at least one Class member is of diverse citizenship from
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`Amazon, there are more than 100 Class members nationwide, and the aggregated amount in
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`controversy exceeds $5,000,000, exclusive of interest and costs.
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`24.
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`Plaintiff is a resident of California, who is an Amazon Prime member. Amazon’s
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`conduct as discussed further herein harmed and injured Plaintiff financially.
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`This Court has personal
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`jurisdiction over Amazon because Amazon
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`is
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`headquartered in Washington State, does business in Washington, directly or through agents, and
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`has registered with the Washington Secretary of State, such that it has sufficient minimum contacts
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`with Washington.
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`Venue is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(1) and (2) because Amazon’s principal
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`III. VENUE
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`place of business is in this judicial district, and a substantial part of the events giving rise to the
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`claims occurred in this judicial district.
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`There is also a venue provision, specifying this judicial district under the terms of
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`use for all Amazon customers.40
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`38 Id.
`39 Natasha Lomas, Amazon agrees to drop Prime cancellation ‘dark patterns’ in Europe, TECHCRUNCH (July 1,
`2022), https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/01/amazon-ends-prime-cancellation-dark-patterns-europe/.
`40 Conditions of Use - Amazon Customer Service,
`https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html%3FnodeId%3DGLSBYFE9MGKKQXXM
`
`COMPLAINT - 11
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 14 of 22
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`A.
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`Plaintiff
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`IV.
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`PARTIES
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`28.
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`Thomas Dorobiala is a resident of Murrieta, California. He has been an Amazon
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`Prime Member since March 28, 2020, when he started with a free trial. At the end of the free trial
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`Amazon automatically charged him a subscription fee. Around February 2022, he decided to
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`cancel his membership, when he heard that Amazon was raising the subscription fee for Amazon
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`Prime. But when he attempted to cancel online, he found that the cancellation process required
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`multiple steps (4-6 different things) and each time the information kept changing and “things kept
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`popping up.” As a result, after following several steps, he became confused by the process and
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`couldn’t cancel. He’s still an Amazon Prime member today and continues to pay subscription fees
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`to Amazon.
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`B.
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`Defendant Amazon
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`29.
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`Amazon is the largest retailer in the United States and operates the largest electronic
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`commerce (“e-commerce”) marketplace in the world. The number of Amazon’s Prime
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`subscription members rivals Netflix subscribers.41 Amazon, a Delaware corporation, is registered
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`with the Washington Secretary of State and has its principal headquarters in Seattle, Washington.
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`V.
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`STATEMENT OF FACTS
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`30.
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`The term “dark patterns” as employed in this complaint is not a science fiction
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`reference but a term of art from the field of user experience (“UX”). The International Organization
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`for Standardization (ISO) defines “user experience” as a “person’s perceptions and responses that
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`result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service.”42 Dark patterns in UX are
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`“carefully designed misleading interfaces by UX design experts that trick the users into choosing
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`41 Parkev Tatevosian, Netflix Versus Amazon Prime: The Race to 200 Million Subscribers, THE MOTLEY FOOL
`(Oct.17, 2020), https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/netflix-versus-amazon-prime%3A-the-race-to-200-million-
`subscribers-2020-10-17.
`42 UIUX Trend, User Experience (UX): Process and Methodology, https://uiuxtrend.com/user-experience-ux-
`process/ (last accessed Nov. 8, 2022).
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`COMPLAINT - 12
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 15 of 22
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`paths that they didn’t probably want to take, thus fulfilling the business objectives, completely
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`ignoring the requirements and ethics of users.”43
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`31.
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`The term was first coined by cognitive scientist Harry Brignull, who borrowed from
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`existing UX terminology. In UX, designers refer to common, re-usable solutions to a problem as
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`a “design pattern,” and conversely to common mistakes to solutions as “anti-patterns.” 44 The term
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`“dark patterns” was intended to “communicate the unscrupulous nature” of the design “and also
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`the fact that it can be shadowy and hard to pin down.”45 The following provide some examples of
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`dark patterns:46
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`43 Joey Ricard, UX Dark Patterns: The Dark Side Of The UX Design, KLIZO SOLS. PVT. LTD. (Nov. 9, 2020),
`https://klizos.com/ux-dark-patterns-the-dark-side-of-the-ux-design/.
`44 Harry Brignull, Bringing Dark Patterns to Light, MEDIUM (June 6, 2021), https://harrybr.medium.com/
`bringing-dark-patterns-to-light-d86f24224ebf
`45 Id.
`46 Sarbasish Basu, What is a dark pattern? How it benefits businesses - Some examples, H2S MEDIA (Dec. 19,
`2019), https://www.how2shout.com/technology/what-is-a-dark-pattern-how-it-benefit-businesses-with-some-
`examples.html.
`
`COMPLAINT - 13
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 16 of 22
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`32.
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`Dark patterns themselves can be traced to the use of applied psychology and A/B
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`testing in UX.47 In the 1970s, behavioral science sought to understand irrational decisions and
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`behaviors and discovered that cognitive biases guide all our thinking. The following provides
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`examples of cognitive biases, including some that Amazon employs in its cancellation process:48
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`33. Whereas the early behavioral research focused on understanding rather than
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`intervention, later researchers, like Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler, authors of the book Nudge
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`made a policy argument that institutions should engineer “choice architectures” in a way that uses
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`behavioral science for the benefit of those whom they serve.49
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`34.
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`Another step in the development is the use of A/B testing in UX. A/B testing is a
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`quantitative research method that presents an audience with two variations of a design and then
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`47 Id.
`48 Krisztina Szerovay, Cognitive Bias — Part 2, UX KNOWLEDGE BASE (Dec. 19, 2017), available at
`https://uxknowledgebase.com/cognitive-bias-part-2-fab5b7717179.
`49 Arvind Narayanan et al., Dark Patterns: Past, Present, and Future. The evolution of tricky user interfaces, 18
`ACM QUEUE 67-91 (2002), available at https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3400901.
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`COMPLAINT - 14
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
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`measures which actions they take (or do not take) in response to each variant.50 UX designers use
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`this method to determine which design or content performs best with the intended user base.51
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`35.
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`Unscrupulous UX designers subverted the intent of the researchers who discovered
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`cognitive biases by using these principles in ways that undermined consumers’ autonomy and
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`informed choice, and they used A/B testing to turn behavioral insights into strikingly effective user
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`interfaces that deceived consumers in ways that were more profitable to the company applying
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`them.52 Dark patterns increase a company’s ability to extract revenue from its users by nudging or
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`tricking consumers to spending more than they otherwise would, yield more personal information,
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`or see more ads.53
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`36.
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`A combination of dark patterns has a compounding effect, which will increase the
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`impact of each dark pattern and exacerbate the harm they present to the consumer.54 Amazon uses
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`a combination of dark patterns to decrease the likelihood that its Prime subscribers will make it all
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`the way to the final confirmation of cancellation. For example, Amazon employs misdirection,
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`which is when “the design purposefully focuses your attention on one thing in order to distract
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`your attention from another.”55 Brightly colored buttons offering alternatives to cancelling and
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`whimsical graphics to depict the value remaining with Prime are not intended to streamline the
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`process of cancellation, but to confuse and distract the Prime member and keep him or her from
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`quitting the subscription.
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`Amazon also uses confirm-shaming, where the “option to decline is worded in such
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`a way as to shame the user into compliance.”56 For example, vague warnings about the loss of
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`50 UXPin, A/B Testing in UX Design: When and Why It’s Worth It, https://www.uxpin.com/studio/blog/ab-
`testing-in-ux-design-when-and-why/ (last accessed Nov. 8, 2022).
`51 Id.
`52 Narayanan et al., supra note 52.
`53 Id.
`54 FTC, Staff Report, Bringing Dark Patterns to Light at 2 (Sept. 2022), available at https://www.ftc.gov/
`system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/P214800%20Dark%20Patterns%20Report%209.14.2022%20-%20FINAL.pdf at 2.
`55 Types of deceptive design, https://www.deceptive.design/types (last accessed Nov. 8, 2022).
`56 Id.
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`COMPLAINT - 15
`Case No. 2:22-cv-01600
`010888-17/2052844 V1
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`1301 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2000 • SEATTLE, WA 98101
`(206) 623-7292 • FAX (206) 623-0594
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`Case 2:22-cv-01600 Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 18 of 22
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`where a person’s aversion to giving something up is greater than the utility associated with
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`acquiring it.57
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`38. More generally, Prime membership fits the roach motel dark pattern, where “you
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`get into a situation very easily, but then you find it is hard to get out of it (e.g., a premium
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`subscription).” 58 Signing up for Prime is very easy, whereas cancellation is very burdensome.
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`39.
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`Amazon knows ho