June 30 (Reuters) – Australia’s competition regulator said on Tuesday it has taken Amazon’s Australian unit to court, alleging its Prime subscription contracts contained unfair terms that allowed the company to add advertising to Prime Video.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) alleged that between November 2023 and August 2025, Amazon Australia used unfair Prime contract terms to make negative changes for over 1 million annual subscribers without offering compensation.
After July 2024, subscribers who wanted to maintain ad-free streaming had to pay an additional A$2.99 per month. This was despite annual subscribers already having paid A$79 ($54.40) upfront for the service, the ACCC added in its statement.
The regulator also alleged that Amazon.com Services LLC was knowingly concerned in the Australian unit’s conduct, adding that the former was involved in drafting the Australian contracts that contained the terms.
The ACCC is seeking declarations, penalties, consumer redress, costs and other orders.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the matter.
($1 = 1.4522 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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