Australia’s competition regulator takes Amazon to court over alleged unfair

Australia’s competition regulator is taking Amazon‘s Australian unit to court, alleging that unfair terms in its Prime subscription contracts allowed the company ​to introduce advertising to its video streaming platform.

The Australian Competition ​and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said in a statement on Tuesday that Amazon Australia allegedly used unfair terms between November 2023 and August ⁠2025 to make changes to Prime Video contracts.

The contracts, said the ACCC, required more than a million annual Prime subscribers in the country to accept advertising or pay an additional AU$2.99 ($2.05) per month for an ad-free option when Amazon introduced ads into Prime Video service in July 2024, with no entitlement to a refund if they chose to cancel their subscription.

“We allege that ​Amazon AU included multiple unfair terms in its contracts with Australian annual Prime subscribers, and it then relied on some of these terms to bring ads onto Amazon ​Prime Video,” said the regulator’s chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb.

The ACCC is seeking consumer redress, penalties, costs, declarations and other orders.

The Amazon local unit’s contracts were investigated by the regulator after it received reports from consumers following the company’s introduction of ads to Prime Video in July 2024, the ACCC said in a statement.

“We are reviewing the case filed by the ACCC in detail. We have cooperated with the ACCC throughout its investigation and remain focused on providing the best experience for our Australian customers,” an Amazon Australia spokesperson told CNBC in an email when asked for comment.

The news comes after Amazon’s shares rose 3.2% Monday amid reports of stronger-than-expected consumer demand during the company’s extended Prime Day event in the U.S. According to data firm Adobe Analytics, U.S. online shoppers spent more than $26.4 billion from June 23 through June 26.