The appearance of advertising on Prime Video in 2024 was naturally not well received, so much so that users in the United States joined together to launch a collective complaint (a Class Action as it is called there) against the platform, accusing it of an abusive price increase. Indeed, continuing to enjoy the service without advertising (in its original form) requires paying a supplement. An abusive increase therefore according to the plaintiffs but not for this federal judge in Washington who dismissed the complaint, arguing that this new system is more of an alteration of the subscription than a price increase.
The floor is given to Barbara J. Rothstein, the presiding judge in the case££££
"It is true that Amazon's introduction of ads on its streaming service, for Prime members who chose to pay more to maintain ad-free streaming, ultimately had an effect on those subscribers' wallets equivalent to a 'price increase,'" explained Barbara J. Rothstein, the presiding judge in the case. However, the court is bound to maintain the distinction between the removal of a benefit and a price increase for several reasons. First, this distinction is repeatedly reinforced in the contracts themselves. Modifications and removals of benefits are expressly authorized throughout both contracts; price increases, on the other hand, are limited and permitted only under certain conditions. The separate and explicit treatment of these elements would make little sense if the removal of a benefit could be transformed into a price increase simply by reinterpreting it in this way."
Conclusion, you have to read the fine print of the terms of use...££££
Basically, it would have been enough to read the fine print of the terms of use, which no one reads, to guess that such a change could take place. "The subscription rate for subscribers who took no action did not change at all," the judge continued. "Only subscribers who voluntarily chose to expose themselves to a price increase did so by explicitly opting for the $2.99 per month billing in order to avoid ads."
For our part, we had already shared with you our feelings (still unchanged) on Amazon's strategy for its Prime Video service: Perfidious Prime Video: Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision are over (unless you pay)
