FTC Sues Amazon Over Anticompetitive Practices
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today sued Amazon over its alleged anticompetitive business practices. Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, released the following statement:
“Amazon did not come to dominate retail markets through innovation and fair competition. It has leveraged its market power as the go-to online shopping site to bend competitors to its will and deepen its monopoly position. If you as a small business want to sell online, you have little choice but to sell through Amazon. But if you sell through Amazon, you do so at a disadvantage, subjected to fees and terms that benefit Amazon, diminish innovation, and force higher prices for consumers.
“Amazon’s dominance and ubiquity mask the harms it inflicts daily on consumers, workers, small business, and a fair economy. Today’s lawsuit from the FTC strips away that mask and shows the real-world impacts of the illegal exercise of monopoly power.
“Amazon’s monopoly is bad for America – for the economy, society, politics, consumers, and workers. Today’s FTC lawsuit is a mark of a government agency doing its job to buttress democracy and economic justice.”