{"id":"e766b681-c946-499e-8c86-db8685d4bf1d","slug":"instacart-ftc-settlement-2025","kind":"regulatory_action","headline":"FTC orders Instacart to pay $60M in consumer refunds for deceptive advertising and subscription practices","summary":"The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement requiring Instacart to pay $60 million in consumer refunds to settle allegations of deceptive tactics. The FTC alleged Instacart falsely advertised 'free delivery' while charging mandatory service fees up to 15% of order cost, falsely advertised a '100% satisfaction guarantee' while hiding refund options, and failed to clearly disclose Instacart+ membership enrollment terms, charging hundreds of thousands of consumers without express informed consent.","occurredAt":"2025-12-18T00:00:00.000Z","reviewStatus":"reviewed","modelId":null,"deploymentId":null,"companyId":"159cc655-5870-4ed5-a6a5-921eecd03895","aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"severity":"moderate","rootCauseCategory":null,"rootCauseDetail":null,"affectedUnitsCount":null,"affectedUnitsBasis":null,"remediationStatus":null,"regulatoryAction":"fine","regulatoryBody":"FTC","propertyDamageEstimateUsd":null,"damageEstimateBasis":null,"bodilyInjurySeverity":null,"fatalityCount":null,"lossCostClass":null,"sourceQualityTier":null,"oshaRecordable":null,"oshaCaseNumber":null,"rootCauseDisclosed":null,"publicDisclosureDate":null,"insuranceClaimPublic":null,"createdAt":"2026-07-18T12:46:33.243Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-18T12:46:33.243Z","model":null,"deployment":null,"company":{"id":"159cc655-5870-4ed5-a6a5-921eecd03895","name":"Instacart","slug":"instacart","description":"North American online grocery platform operating as a deployer of physical AI systems in retail and fulfillment. Instacart acquired [Caper AI](/companies/caper-ai) in 2021 for $350M to deploy AI-powered smart shopping carts with computer vision and weight sensors at major grocery retailers including [Kroger](/companies/kroger), Wakefern, Schnucks, and Sobeys. The company also partnered with [Fabric](/companies/fabric) to build robotic micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs) for automated grocery order picking. Instacart went public as Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ: CART) in September 2023 at $30/share, raising $660M. The company reported $3.74B revenue in 2025 and acquired Caper AI co-founder Lindon Gao's smart cart technology to unify in-store and online commerce.","status":"public (NASDAQ:CART)","founded":2012,"hq":"San Francisco, CA, USA","fundingTotal":null,"type":"brain","reviewStatus":"reviewed","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByCompanyId":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.instacart.com/","title":"Instacart","date_accessed":"2026-06-24"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"CEO","value":"Chris Rogers (since August 2025)"},{"label":"Previous CEO","value":"Fidji Simo (2021-2025, departed to OpenAI)"},{"label":"Founder","value":"Apoorva Mehta (2012, now Executive Chairman)"},{"label":"Stock","value":"NASDAQ: CART (Maplebear Inc.), IPO September 2023 at $30/share, raised $660M"},{"label":"Revenue","value":"$3.742 billion (2025), up 11% YoY"},{"label":"Q1 2026 Revenue","value":"$1.019 billion, up 14% YoY"},{"label":"Employees","value":"~3,000+ (corporate)"},{"label":"Retail partners","value":"600+ national, regional, and local retailers across 55,000+ stores"},{"label":"Acquisition","value":"Caper AI for $350M (October 2021)"},{"label":"Financial stage","value":"Mature — publicly traded, revenue-generating"}],"aliases":["Maplebear"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"atsProvider":null,"atsSlug":null,"factoryLocations":null,"manufacturingCapacity":null,"orgType":null,"burnSignal":null,"litigationEvents":null,"insurancePostureDisclosed":null,"unitEconomicsDisclosed":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-25T00:29:45.213Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-18T12:45:38.419Z"},"derived":{"status":"active"},"sources":[{"id":"95d7a651-2df7-452e-9fb0-d2c52488908a","incidentId":"e766b681-c946-499e-8c86-db8685d4bf1d","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/instacart-pay-60-million-consumer-refunds-settle-ftc-lawsuit-over-allegations-it-engaged-deceptive","label":"Instacart to Pay $60 Million in Consumer Refunds to Settle FTC Lawsuit","publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"Instacart to Pay $60 Million in Consumer Refunds to Settle FTC Lawsuit","sourceName":null,"mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-07-18T12:46:34.007Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-18T12:46:34.007Z"}],"responses":[],"statusEvents":[],"jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/instacart-ftc-settlement-2025","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/instacart-ftc-settlement-2025","headline":"FTC orders Instacart to pay $60M in consumer refunds for deceptive advertising and subscription practices","description":"The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement requiring Instacart to pay $60 million in consumer refunds to settle allegations of deceptive tactics. The FTC alleged Instacart falsely advertised 'free delivery' while charging mandatory service fees up to 15% of order cost, falsely advertised a '100% satisfaction guarantee' while hiding refund options, and failed to clearly disclose Instacart+ membership enrollment terms, charging hundreds of thousands of consumers without express informed consent.","identifier":"e766b681-c946-499e-8c86-db8685d4bf1d","datePublished":"2025-12-18T00:00:00.000Z","articleSection":"regulatory action","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"},"author":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":1,"primary_source_types":["primary-ftc-filing"]}}}