Amazon cannot show ads to Prime Video customers, Munich court rules
Anna Quelhas / Shutterstock.com
By Olivia Logan
The Munich Regional Court has ruled that Amazon can no longer show ads to customers who pay for a Prime Video subscription on the US company’s streaming site.
Munich court issues ruling on Amazon Prime Video ads
The Munich Regional Court has ruled that Amazon is no longer allowed to show ads to customers who pay for a Prime Video subscription. The case was brought after the German Federation of Consumer Organisations (VZBV) lodged a formal complaint against the US company.
In early 2024, Amazon sent an email informing Prime Video subscribers that from February 2024 ads would be shown to Prime Video subscribers unless they paid an extra 2,99 euros per month for their subscription.
The judge considered the email to be misleading, because it implied to customers that the international company could make unilateral changes to their Prime Video subscription contract.
The court in Munich ruled that Amazon must send an “amendment letter” (Berichtigungsschreiben) to Prime Video customers, but is yet to decide whether the company must reimburse customers and if so, by how much.
VZBV says Amazon ruling is a win for consumers
VZBV representative Ramona Pop said the judgement showed that “the additional advertising on Amazon Prime Video could not be carried out without the participation of the consumers concerned.”
While the court's decision is not yet legally binding, a spokesperson from Amazon said that the company would review the judgement and decide which steps would be taken.
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Editor for Germany at IamExpat Media. Olivia first came to Germany in 2013 to work as an Au Pair. Since studying English Literature and German in Scotland, Freiburg and Berlin she has worked as a features journalist and news editor.Read more