Amazon has been fined nearly €7.4 million by a Polish regulator, partly due to its use of… Dark patterns. For example, the company used timers to entice customers to buy faster. In addition, Amazon did not honor the agreements.
Poland's competition and consumer rights regulator UOKiK said Amazon uses timers to indicate that if customers order within a certain time period, they will receive the product on a certain date. Some products will also display how many products are still in stock, as well as a timer. UOKiK talks about dark patterns This puts pressure on the customer to make the purchase as quickly as possible.
What plays a role in the regulator's decision is that Amazon did not meet its own deadlines for “certain deliveries.” Turns out the products are out of stock after all. Amazon says it sees these expected delivery times and inventory numbers as indicative, but according to UOKiK, the company isn't explaining this clearly enough to customers.
The American company is also fined because it was not clear when the purchase agreements were concluded and when not. In the terms and conditions, the company indicates that the agreements are not binding and that the company can therefore terminate the agreements, for example if the product turns out to be unavailable. Amazon has informed customers about this, but according to UOKiK, this was not clear enough. This is what it says in small gray letters on a white background at the bottom of the page. At the same time, the customer was presented with slogans such as “Buy now” or “Complete purchase.” Therefore, the supervisor found the behavior to be misleading.
The fine amounts to 31.85 million zlotys, equivalent to 7.38 million euros. Amazon He tells Reuters Disapproval of the fine and appeal.
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