Amazon has agreed to pay a $2.5 billion settlement over a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which accused the e-commerce giant of deceiving customers into signing up for Prime subscriptions without their consent.

In a September 25 release, the FTC said that $1 billion of the settlement will go toward civil fines, while the remaining $1.5 billion will be paid out in refunds to customers who were harmed by Amazon's "deceptive enrollment practices." According to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, the company used "sophisticated subscription traps" to manipulate customers into signing up for Prime, and then made it "exceedingly hard" for people to end their subscriptions after the fact. The cancellation system was reportedly so difficult to navigate, that it was allegedly code-named "Iliad" internally, in reference to Homer's epic poem about the decade-long Trojan War.

The trial involving the FTC's lawsuit against Amazon initially went to court in Seattle starting the week of September 22, and was expected to last a month before the company abruptly agreed to settle. Under the terms of Amazon's agreement with the FTC, the company will have to include a "clear and conspicuous" button for customers that allows them to opt out of subscribing to Prime while shopping, and make it easier for existing subscribers to cancel. Amazon will also have to pay an independent, third-party supervisor to monitor its compliance with refunding money to customers. 

The $1 billion civil penalty is the largest ever for a case involving an FTC rule violation, while the $1.5 billion refund is the second highest restitution award the agency has ever won.