SYDNEY--Australia's consumer watchdog is suing Amazon.com, alleging that the U.S. retailer relied on unfair contract terms to introduce advertising to more than 850,000 local streaming customers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Tuesday filed a case in the country's Federal Court claiming that local Prime contracts contained five unfair terms that allowed Amazon to unilaterally make negative changes to its service without offering anything in return.
The company then relied on one or more of those terms, which breached Australian consumer law, to introduce advertising on its platform, the ACCC said.
"Consumers who wanted to avoid ads were left with no choice but to pay more to maintain the service they'd initially signed up for," ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
The legal action against Amazon's Australia unit related to the wording of more than a million customers' contracts between November 2023 and August 2025.
Amazon introduced advertising to its local streaming service in July 2024, telling customers they needed to pay extra to keep their service ad-free. More than 850,000 subscribers had already paid 79 Australian dollars, or US$54.40, for an annual subscription, the ACCC said.
Amazon Australia said it had cooperated with the ACCC through an investigation and that it was reviewing the legal filings.
The ACCC alleged that Amazon in the U.S. helped draft the contracts, and to implement the advertising rollout in Australia.
The ACCC has asked the court to impose financial penalties and costs on Amazon, and to force the company to offer redress to customers. Businesses can be fined A$50 million or more for each breach of the relevant law.
Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 30, 2026 02:22 ET (06:22 GMT)
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