The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday announced that it has added three senior Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) executives as defendants as it amended its complaint against the e-commerce giant for its "deceptive" Prime sign-up and cancellation processes.
The amended complaint alleges high-ranking Amazon executives overseeing Prime downplayed employee concerns about members of the subscription program being enrolled without their consent, CNBC reported.
The media outlet also noted that previously redacted emails included in the updated complaint show that Amazon employees compelled the executives to address issues around customers being steered into signing up for Prime without their consent and to make changes so the company would not be "tricking" its customers.
Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle called the FTC’s decision to add its executives as defendants "unwarranted under the facts and the law."
He added the complaint "is full of cherry-picked quotes that are taken out of context and mischaracterized by the agency."
Named in the filing were Amazon’s senior vice president (SVP) of international consumer Russell Grandinetti, Prime boss Jamil Ghani, and SVP Neil Lindsay, who previously oversaw Prime’s technology and business operations and is now leading the company's health services.
Both Grandinetti and Lindsay are reportedly part of Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s tight-knit inner circle.
The amended FTC filing also includes new details about how Amazon executives weighed the potential negative impacts to its business if it were to "clarify" the Prime enrollment process.
Amazon Prime provides its members with perks such as free shipping and access to streaming services at a cost of $139 a year.
The company generated $9.8 billion in subscription services revenue, which includes Prime memberships, during its most recent quarter.
Shares of Amazon.com fell 3% to $131.05 in early Thursday trading but have gained 53% year to date.
Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com