Expert criticism of the FTC’s lawsuit against Amazon’s subscription model has been fast and furious, with many pointing out the suit’s ludicrous nature as it takes just “six clicks” to unsubscribe from Prime—which is a service Americans love. Experts also note the FTC’s lack of focus on issues within its jurisdiction and its understanding of industry subscription practices.

Here’s what experts had to say:

The FTC is misguided and acting beyond its scope 

A statement from the Open Competition Center notes the FTC broke precedent by filing the lawsuit “without providing Amazon with any opportunity to explain why it should not be sued.” “Notably, Khan’s FTC filed this lawsuit without providing Amazon with any opportunity to explain why it should not be sued, resembling another FTC lawsuit against Meta that the company first learned of on Twitter. In the past, the FTC would provide companies with this opportunity to meet with commissioners to explain why they should not be sued. This step helped protect the agency’s credibility when suing a company. Khan has tossed this precedent by ambushing multiple companies with lawsuits and other enforcement actions without warning.”

Carl Szabo of NetChoice notes the ease of Amazon Prime cancellation, calling the lawsuit “absurd.” “This lawsuit is absurd. The complaint is that Amazon encourages people to use Amazon Prime – this is like going after Kroger for promoting its rewards program or Costco for its membership club … Ask anyone who has ever tried to cancel a Comcast subscription, and they will give you a horror story. SiriusXM tries to convince you to call them. With Amazon, canceling only takes a click of a button or a quick search.”

Adam Kovacevich of the Chamber of Progress noted how much easier it is to cancel a Prime membership than other services. “There are many, many services that are harder to cancel than Amazon Prime. Local newspapers are especially hard to cancel. This was a good study comparing sites’ approaches: NYT, Hulu, Vimeo, Netflix all fared worse than Amazon.”

According to Former FTC General Counsel Alden Abbott, the FTC should instead focus on actions that “clearly harm[s] consumers.” “FTC has an important role in going after fraud and unfairness that clearly harms consumers, it should focus its resources on those cases.”

Eric Boehm of Reason Magazine showed how it takes only “6 clicks” to cancel an Amazon Prime membership, and the FTC claims that’s “too many.” “But do you know how many clicks it would take to submit your feedback to the FTC about its decision to file this lawsuit? Seven.”

Similarly, Patrick Hedger of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance reacted to the FTC complaint by saying, “You have to GO to most gyms to cancel and FTC is suing Amazon over 6 clicks to cancel. Can’t make it up.” “The canceling process I did before I read the complaint is still six clicks and not substantially different than the complaint… and again it took me less than a minute and required zero phone calls. Six. Clicks. The horror.”

Some other retailers make customers call or go in-person to cancel their subscriptions

Costco

Speak with a team member at any warehouse membership counter and receive an immediate refund, or… Call our Member Services Center at 1-800-774-2678

Sam’s Club

For immediate cancellation and refund, please visit the Membership Desk at any club. You can also call 1(888) 746-7726 to cancel your Membership and receive your refund via Sam’s eGift Card*.

There are “myriads” of benefits to having a Prime subscription

Adam Kovacevich of the Chamber of Progress noted that in a survey conducted earlier this year that “89% of Amazon Prime members were satisfied.” Additional survey findings included:

— “Two-thirds of all voters are Amazon Prime members. 71% of Dem voters are Prime members; 62% of Republican voters are Prime members.”

— When “Asked to rank a list of tech regulation priorities, ‘regulating Amazon Prime’ was ranked by voters at the very bottom of the list”

Deputy Director Yaël Ossowski of the Consumer Choice Center reacted to the lawsuit, noting that consumers receive “a myriad of benefits” from Prime subscriptions. “Consumers know they’re getting a myriad of benefits with their Prime subscription they can cancel at anytime, whether that’s faster delivery, cheaper prices, or bundled services like data storage and content streaming. That’s what consumers want.”

— Ossowski adds: “Consumers have overwhelmingly had their welfare increased because of Amazon’s products and services.”

CCIA President Matt Schruers pushes back against the suit, saying Prime allows consumers to “shop online for competitive offers a few clicks away.” “Amid many pressing issues that greatly affect Americans consumers, the FTC is focused on redesigning online menus of a wildly popular retailer. At a time when the public faces rising prices on necessities, they can shop online for competitive offers a few clicks away, enjoying features like fast, free shipping.”

Consumer Technology Association’s Michael Petricone noted his own personal experience with Prime. “Dear FTC, I subscribe to Prime because I’m elated to get fast shipping, video streaming, ad-free music, photo storage, http://Twitch.TV, Audible books and grocery discounts, all for $15/month. I don’t need to be coerced. Please focus on actual consumer fraud and abuse.”

For more from Springboard about FTC overreach, click here and here.