FTC v. Amazon
{{Short description|2023 lawsuit brought against the multinational technology company Amazon}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox United States District Court case
| name = Federal Trade Commission et al v. Amazon.com, Inc
| court = United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
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| imagesize = 150 px
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| full name = Federal Trade Commission, State of New York, State of Connecticut, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State of Delaware, State of Maine, State of Maryland, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, State of Michigan, State of Minnesota, State of Nevada, State of New Hampshire, State of New Jersey, State of New Mexico, State of Oklahoma, State of Oregon, State of Rhode Island and State of Wisconsin v. Amazon.com, Inc.
| date decided =
| docket = 2:23-cv-01495
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Federal Trade Commission, et al. v. Amazon.com, Inc. is a lawsuit brought against the multinational technology company and online retailer Amazon in 2023. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), joined by the attorneys general of seventeen U.S. states, alleges that Amazon holds and abuses an online retail monopoly.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/26/technology/ftc-amazon.html |title=U.S. Accuses Amazon of Illegally Protecting Monopoly in Online Retail |date=September 26, 2023 |last=McCabe |first=David |work=The New York Times |access-date=September 26, 2023 |archive-date=September 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926160818/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/26/technology/ftc-amazon.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Fung |first=Brian |date=September 26, 2023 |title=US government and 17 states sue Amazon in landmark monopoly case |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/26/tech/ftc-sues-amazon-antitrust-monopoly-case/index.html |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=2023-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926162812/https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/26/tech/ftc-sues-amazon-antitrust-monopoly-case/index.html |url-status=live }}
Background
Amazon is a multinational technology company founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as a bookseller that has since become the world's largest online retailer.{{Cite web |last=Debter |first=Lauren |title=The World’s Largest Retailers 2022: Pandemic Helps Amazon Cement Its Lead |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurendebter/2022/05/12/worlds-largest-retailers-2022-amazon-walmart-alibaba/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=Forbes |date=May 12, 2022 |language=en |archive-date=2023-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926204048/https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurendebter/2022/05/12/worlds-largest-retailers-2022-amazon-walmart-alibaba/ |url-status=live }} The company has expanded to other ventures such as Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Web Services. {{As of|2022}}, it had a turnover of over $500 billion, making it one of the largest companies in the world.{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |first2= |title=Topic: Amazon |url=https://www.statista.com/topics/846/amazon/ |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=Statista |language=en |archive-date=2023-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927103501/https://www.statista.com/topics/846/amazon/ |url-status=live }} The case drew comparisons to a notable Yale Law journal article written by incumbent FTC Chair, Lina Khan, that used Amazon as an example of how United States antitrust law should be rewritten. Will Oremus of the Washington Post noted that the actual case was much more tempered than the arguments put forth by Khan in her article.{{Cite news |last=Oremus |first=Will |date=2023-09-27 |title=Analysis {{!}} Lina Khan’s Amazon lawsuit is nothing like her famous law article |language=en-US |work=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/09/27/lina-khan-amazon-antitrust-paradox/ |access-date=2023-12-05 |issn=0190-8286}}
Claims
The case, filed in the U.S. state of Washington, alleges that Amazon took part in a number of anti-competitive practices.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-26 |title=Amazon sued by FTC and 17 states over allegations it inflates online prices and overcharges sellers |url=https://apnews.com/article/amazon-ftc-lawsuit-antitrust-1b91bf8026cc3edf81e817cf8596c4bf |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=2023-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926181654/https://apnews.com/article/amazon-ftc-lawsuit-antitrust-1b91bf8026cc3edf81e817cf8596c4bf |url-status=live }}
The FTC and states allege Amazon's anticompetitive conduct occurs in two markets—the online superstore market that serves shoppers and the market for online marketplace services purchased by sellers.
- Anti-discounting measures
- Conditioning sellers' ability to obtain Amazon Prime eligibility for their products
and seeking to extract monopoly rents by:
- Replacing organic search results with paid advertisements and "junk" ads
- Biasing Amazon's search results
- Charging costly fees to sellers
The plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction in federal court that would prohibit Amazon from engaging in these practices.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- Case docket for [https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67828404/federal-trade-commission-v-amazoncom-inc/ Federal Trade Commission v. Amazon.com Inc., 2:23-cv-01495, (W.D. Wash.)] at CourtListener
- [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/1910129AmazoneCommerceComplaintPublic.pdf FTC Complaint for Relief] at www.ftc.gov
{{United States antitrust law|state=collapsed}}
{{Amazon}}
Category:United States antitrust case law