Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched a groundbreaking antitrust case against e-commerce giant Amazon. The Commission is targeting unfair methods of competition adopted by the company to distort competition and abuse its monopolistic power in the market. It also alleges that the company uses policies and procedures aimed at preventing fair competition, such as lowering prices and the quality of shopping by putting pressure on its competitors and sellers.

Amazon’s competition strategies under scrutiny

In its lawsuit, the FTC emphasizes that Amazon’s sheer size is not a factor and argues that the company’s exclusionary behavior hinders existing competition and makes it harder for new players to capture the market.

The Commission also highlights allegations that the company penalizes sellers for offering discounts on other platforms. These penalties include the company manipulating search results to not show sellers and using the Prime program to compete with retailers.

Amazon calls the allegations “factually and legally incorrect”. David Zapolsky, the company’s senior vice president and general counsel for global public policy, argues that the FTC will harm consumers and that the case is a radical departure from the FTC’s original mission.

The FTC states that the main purpose of this case against Amazon is to protect consumers and competition. However, some critics argue that FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan has a long-standing animosity towards the company and sees this case as a personal battle of ideology.

FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan has been waging a long-running and highly publicized smear campaign against one of America’s most popular companies, and this latest case is no different.
Chandler Smith Costello, spokesperson for the Don’t Break What Works campaign

The case is the latest in a series of actions taken by the FTC against Amazon. The FTC is seeking an injunction against all anti-competitive practices alleged in the dispute.