Amazon’s subscriber service now under fire

LONDON — Those who have tried ending a membership in Amazon Prime, the technology giant’s digital subscription service, may be familiar with the multiclick process: warnings that cancellation will mean losing “exclusive benefits,” and prompts to reverse course, or switch to an annual membership instead.

Consumer rights groups in Europe and the United States are now urging regulators to take action against Amazon over that Prime design feature, saying it manipulates users into sticking with paid memberships.

A Norwegian consumer rights group on Thursday filed a legal complaint with that country’s regulators accusing Amazon of engaging in unfair commercial practices with the Prime cancellation design, the latest move in a broader push to make tech companies more accountable to users.

“It should be as easy to end a subscription as it was to subscribe in the first place,” said Finn Lutzow-Holm Myrstad, director of digital policy for the rights group the Norwegian Consumer Council. “This practice not only betrays the expectations and trust of consumers but breaches European law.”

The move was welcomed Thursday by consumer rights advocates in Europe and in the United States.

Amazon said it rejected claims that the cancellation process created uncertainty.

“We make it easy for customers to leave whenever they choose to,” the company said, adding that there were several ways to cancel online or with a phone call. Information provided during the cancellation process “gives a full view of the benefits and services members are canceling,” the company said.