WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) – Publishers Clearing House (PCH), which offers sweepstakes where people can win thousands of dollars a week for life, has agreed to pay $18.5 million and change its business practices to settle allegations that it misled consumers about its competitions The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Monday.
The FTC had accused PCH of using “dark patterns,” a manipulative website design, to trick consumers into believing they had to make a purchase to win or to have a better chance of winning. The agency said it also added surprise shipping to purchases, among other things.
“Today’s action requiring PCH to overhaul its user interface, compensate consumers for lost time and stop surprise fees should be a clear signal that manipulative design techniques are prohibited under our laws,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC Bureau or consumer. Protection, said in a statement.
Among the required changes on PCH’s website are “clear, conspicuous and unavoidable disclosures” that no purchase is necessary to win and that a purchase does not increase a person’s chance of winning, the FTC said in a statement.
PCH said about 98% of consumers who went to their website to enter a contest didn’t buy anything. “While we disagree with the FTC’s allegations and have not admitted wrongdoing, we have agreed to settle this matter to avoid the continued cost and distraction of litigation,” said Christopher Irving, vice president of consumer and legal affairs. business, in a statement.
Reporting by Diane Bartz Edited by Mark Potter and Christina Fincher