The Federal Trade Commission has reversed its position and pledged to meet all deadlines in its lawsuit against Amazon over alleged deceptive practices related to its Prime subscription service. This comes just hours after the agency requested a delay, citing resource shortages.
Jonathan Cohen, an FTC attorney, acknowledged the mistake in seeking a postponement during a court hearing on Wednesday. In a follow-up letter, Cohen clarified the agency's readiness, stating, "The commission does not have resource constraints, and we are fully prepared to litigate this case." He assured the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington that the FTC would comply with the trial schedule set by Judge John Chun.
The abrupt reversal follows aggressive cost-cutting measures under the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
These reductions have significantly shrunk the federal workforce, including the FTC's legal team. Despite these constraints, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson reiterated the agency's determination to hold major tech companies accountable, declaring, "The Trump-Vance FTC will never back down from taking on Big Tech."
Earlier, Cohen had requested a two-month delay, citing staffing shortages and operational challenges. However, Amazon's legal team opposed the request, arguing that personnel changes are common in complex litigation and should not disrupt the trial.
The FTC's lawsuit, filed in 2023, accuses Amazon of using deceptive design tactics—known as "dark patterns"—to enroll consumers in automatically-renewing Prime subscriptions.
Amazon, which denies any wrongdoing, faces potential claims exceeding $1 billion. The trial remains set for September 22.
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April 10, 2026 16:21 ET Inflation data from the U.S. was the main data event this week as the conflict in the Middle East continue. The minutes of the latest Fed policy session and the survey data on the services sector also made headlines. In Europe, manufacturing orders data from Germany was in focus. Price data from China drew attention in Asia.