Choice Architecture or Consumer Deception? Amazon’s UI on Trial

The fine line between “choice architecture” and “consumer deception” is the central theme of a federal trial against Amazon that started this week. The U.S. government is arguing that the company’s user interface (UI) crossed this line, moving from legitimate design to illegal manipulation.
The Federal Trade Commission alleges that Amazon’s checkout process was a deliberate exercise in deceptive choice architecture. By making the option to subscribe to Prime the default or most prominent path, the company allegedly exploited cognitive biases to “nudge” users into a decision they did not intend to make.
The trial will also examine the “Iliad” cancellation flow through this same lens. The FTC will argue that this was an example of using choice architecture for obstruction, deliberately introducing “sludge” or friction into the process to guide users toward the choice of giving up.
This case is a landmark for its focus on these sophisticated design concepts. It signals that regulators are becoming more literate in the language of UI/UX design and are prepared to challenge practices that were once considered an acceptable part of digital marketing.
Amazon’s defense will be to argue that its use of choice architecture was benign and helpful. The company will contend that it was simply making it easier for customers to access a valuable service and that its designs were persuasive, not coercive or deceptive.