Amazon's new user agreement seeks to curb class-action suits by shoppers

The e-commerce giant said its updated terms require customers to resolve most disputes through arbitration, while retaining the option to pursue eligible claims in small claims court

By Spencer Soper

 

Amazon.com Inc. reintroduced a clause in its user agreement that seeks to prevent shoppers from filing class-action lawsuits against the online retailer, inserting a legal buffer between itself and plaintiffs' attorneys that it removed five years ago. 

In an email sent to customers on Friday, the company said a new “arbitration agreement and class-action waiver” will require shoppers to resolve disputes outside the courts but said they could still file small claims, cases that typically limit damages to a few thousand dollars.

 

“We continually update our conditions of use to better serve our customers,” an Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We determined that reinstating the arbitration clause will offer customers a fast, cost-effective way to resolve disputes while still giving them the option of going to small claims court.”

 

Amazon removed a similar clause from its user agreement in 2021 amid a barrage of legal privacy challenges related to its voice-activated Alexa devices. The company has also battled class-action lawsuits over unsafe product claims and allegedly making it hard to cancel Prime memberships.

 

The user-agreement update isn’t necessarily binding in court. Plaintiffs' attorneys could still seek class-action lawsuits against Amazon, and it would be up to a judge to determine if the user agreement prevents them from doing so.