The pain of unsubscribing from Amazon Prime is over at least if you live in Europe.
Theres definitely power in numbers.
Its all thanks to extensive lobbying by EU and EEA consumer organizations.
Why is canceling Amazon Prime such a pain in the ass?
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
In other words, consumers who want to leave the service face many hurdles.
These include complicated navigation menus, skewed wording, confusing choices, and repeated nudging.
This process breachesEU rules on consumer protectionaimed at limiting the hold Big Tech has on individual consumers.
Next up, auto-renewals kindly?
In the US, there is a movement around those pesky auto-renewal subscriptions.
They can leave you paying for a product months after an initial free trial, unless you opt-out.
Over 20 stateshave passed automatic renewal laws.
But while state laws are progressing, theres no federal legislation.
In 2019, a group of US politiciansintroduced a billin 2019.
But its yet to move through the necessary channels for a vote.
This week reinforces the power of the EU/EEA as a collective critical mass when it comes to consumer protection.
Its questionable whether US consumer protection will ever be able to reach parity while states pick up the slack.
Therefore, many customers are left fighting individual companies and resorting to lawsuits.
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin.
