Amazon Restores Arbitration and Bars US Customer Class Actions

Amazon courier packing

Amazon Restores Arbitration and Blocks US Customer Class Actions

SEATTLE — August 15, 2026

Amazon has restored binding arbitration for its U.S. customers and introduced terms that prevent them from bringing class-action lawsuits. The changes took effect immediately on Friday, making arbitration the main route for many customer disputes rather than court proceedings.

Amazon notified customers by email that they accept the revised terms by continuing to use its services. Companies often give customers advance notice before changing terms of service, but Amazon's latest changes took effect without a waiting period.

The company had previously required customers to pursue legal claims in courts in Washington state, where Amazon is headquartered. Amazon removed its arbitration requirement about five years ago after facing a large number of individual arbitration cases that created significant costs.

Amazon said bringing back arbitration would give customers what it described as a quicker and less expensive way to settle disputes, while preserving access to small claims court.

The earlier decision to remove arbitration followed a major wave of cases involving Amazon's Alexa voice assistant. In 2021, about 75,000 customers filed arbitration claims alleging that Alexa had recorded them without their permission.

The large number of claims was part of a strategy used by some law firms to pressure companies through mass arbitration. Under arbitration systems, businesses can be required to pay fees for each individual case, meaning thousands of claims can create substantial legal and administrative costs.

Amazon's revised terms now include specific rules for such cases. The company says 25 or more arbitration claims concerning the same issue within a six-month period will be treated as a mass arbitration and handled in groups of at least 25 cases.

Arbitration differs from a traditional court case because an independent third party generally decides the dispute in a private process. Details of the case and any settlement are usually not publicly available, unlike many court proceedings.

Companies have generally received support from courts for terms of service that set rules governing how customers can bring disputes. Such agreements can restrict customers from pursuing claims collectively and require individual disputes to be handled through arbitration.

The new terms do not apply retroactively. Any disputes involving Amazon, including class-action cases, that were already filed before Friday will continue under the rules that applied when they began.