The ACCC alleges Amazon Australia used unfair Prime Video contract terms to introduce ads for over 1 million annual subscribers without offering compensation or refunds.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) alleged that between November 2023 and August 2025, Amazon Australia used unfair Prime Video contract terms to make negative changes for over 1 million annual subscribers without offering compensation.
Australia's competition regulator said Tuesday it has taken Amazon's Australian unit to court, alleging its Prime subscription contracts contained unfair terms that let the company introduce advertising into Prime Video without giving customers a way out. The ACCC claims Amazon changed the service's terms in July 2023, adding a clause that allowed it to modify Prime Video's features unilaterally. By January 2024, Amazon had begun showing ads to Prime subscribers unless they paid an extra A$2.99 a month.
The regulator is seeking declarations, injunctions, and penalties. The case targets Amazon's standard-form consumer contracts, which the ACCC argues gave the company an unfair advantage by locking subscribers into paid plans even after the service they signed up for had changed materially.
Amazon Prime Video launched in Australia in 2019 with an ad-free experience. The ACCC said the shift to an ad-supported model, without offering compensation or a refund for the remaining subscription period, caught customers who had prepaid for annual plans. Annual subscribers paid A$59 in 2023 and A$79 in 2024. The regulator estimated that over 1 million annual subscribers were affected.
"Consumers who had already paid for their annual subscription were locked in," ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said in a statement. "They could not cancel and get their money back."
Amazon Australia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has previously defended its Prime Video ad model, saying it allows it to continue investing in content.
The case is the latest in a string of ACCC actions against big tech companies over consumer contract terms. The regulator has pursued similar cases against Google and Meta over data practices and unfair contract provisions.
The Federal Court of Australia will hear the case. No date has been set for the first hearing.
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