According to a ruling by the Munich Regional Court, the US company Amazon is not allowed to unilaterally change the contractual terms of its streaming service Prime Video and show viewers commercials in Germany. This means that the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations has filed a lawsuit against Amazon The court said it was successful. Amazon should now send customers a “letter of correction”.
According to the ruling, Amazon informed Prime Video customers by email at the beginning of 2024 that from February onwards they would be available to a limited extent Advertising would be sent. If you didn’t want to see advertising, you should pay 2.99 euros more per month. The 33rd Civil Chamber sees this approach as a violation of fair competition.
The verdict is not yet final, Amazon reserves the right to challenge the decision: “We will review the verdict to determine our next steps,” said a spokesman.
The judges rated the email as misleading. According to the ruling, Amazon led customers to believe that they were entitled to unilaterally change the contract. The court concluded that neither the Amazon Terms of Service nor the law permits such a unilateral change. When the contract was concluded, the customers agreed to an advertising-free offer, according to the court statement. And because Amazon has made an ad-free program a “subject matter of the contract,” the company must be held to it.
Amazon disagrees
Amazon disagreed: “While we respect the court’s decision, we disagree with the conclusions,” a company spokesman said. “We informed our customers about the Prime Video advertising update transparently, in advance and in accordance with applicable law.”
Ramona Pop, board member of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, spoke of a very important judgment: “It shows that the additional advertising on Amazon Prime Video could not take place without the participation of the consumers concerned.” According to the consumer advice center, members are still entitled to Prime without advertising – “and at no additional cost”.
