The Federal Trade Commission is predicted to file an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon over its alleged anti-competitive business practices as early as Tuesday, in keeping with a report.
The long-awaited legal motion by FTC Chair Lina Khan is predicted to take aim at what its critics charge are Amazon’s monopolistic behavior in the web retail space, in keeping with the news site Politico.
Khan — who rose to prominence with a 2017 paper she wrote as a Yale Law School student that was highly critical of the Jeff Bezos-founded company — wants the court to interrupt up Amazon’s $1.3 trillion empire.
The FTC, which currently has no Republican appointees, also wants other states to hitch within the lawsuit in a show of bipartisan force, in keeping with Politico.
The possible showdown comes as Google faces its own landmark antitrust fight against the Justice Department.
Antitrust advocates have long alleged that Amazon has abused its market position by requiring third-party retailers to supply their lowest prices on Amazon’s website — effectively eliminating competition.
The FTC can be reportedly targeting Amazon Prime, the free delivery subscription service which critics charge has gathered an excessive amount of market share by bundling offerings resembling books, music, and video streaming.
The Federal Trade Commission led by Chair Lina Khan is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, in keeping with a report.REUTERS
On Friday, Amazon said it plans to begin putting advertisements within the TV shows and films on its Prime Video streaming platform to shore up profits.
Amazon has also been accused by antitrust advocates of incentivizing sellers to make use of the corporate’s logistics services, including shipping and warehousing, by offering them higher placement on its website.
The corporate can be alleged to have forced merchants to purchase ads on Amazon’s web page with the intention to recuperate product placement in customer search results.
The Post has sought comment from Amazon and the FTC.
Amazon, led by CEO Andy Jassy, is alleged to have engaged in anti-competitive business practices.Bloomberg via Getty Images
In August, Amazon lawyers and executives did not persuade Khan and two other Democrat-appointed FTC commissioners to drop their investigation.
Amazon has argued that Khan is biased against the e-commerce giant.
The 34-year-old antitrust crusader has filed three lawsuits against Amazon since being appointed FTC chair by President Joe Biden in 2021.
Amazon has demanded that Khan recuse herself from antitrust probes into its business given her past criticisms of the corporate — to no avail.
The agency sued Amazon earlier this yr for allegedly engaging in a years-long effort to enroll consumers without consent into Amazon Prime and making it difficult for them to cancel their subscriptions.
Khan’s agency is looking for to get a court to order Amazon to interrupt up its $1.3 trillion empire. AFP via Getty Images
The FTC accused Amazon of using deceptive designs, referred to as “dark patterns,” to idiot consumers into enrolling in Prime, which provides subscribers with perks resembling faster shipping for a fee of $139 annually, or $14.99 a month.
The FTC said Amazon made it difficult for purchasers to buy an item without also subscribing to Prime.
In some cases, consumers were presented with a button to finish their transactions — which didn’t clearly state it could also enroll them in Prime.
Amazon denied the FTC’s allegations.
In June, Amazon agreed to pay a $25 million civil penalty to settle allegations it violated a toddler privacy law for storing kids’ voice and site data recorded by its popular Alexa voice assistant.
