• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, March 12, 2025

On Wednesday, shortly after seeking to delay a trial against Amazon over its alleged use of "dark patterns" to dupe Prime subscribers, the Federal Trade Commission reversed itself and said it is “fully prepared” to litigate.

“Following today's telephonic status conference, I write to clarify comments I made today,” FTC attorney Jonathan Cohen said in a letter sent Wednesday to U.S. District Court Judge John Chun in Seattle.

“I was wrong,” Cohen wrote. “The Commission does not have resource constraints and we are fully prepared to litigate this case. Please be assured that the FTC will meet whatever schedule and deadlines the court sets.”

Earlier Wednesday, Cohen asked Chun to delay the trial, scheduled to begin in September.

Cohen reportedly said at the time that the agency was in a “dire resource situation” due to recent resignations and a hiring freeze.