E-Commerce Giant Amazon May Face FTC Anti-Trust Lawsuit

According to a report, e-commerce giant Amazon may face a possible FTC anti-trust lawsuit in the US

The Wall Street Journal reported that the US Federal Trade Commission is preparing a potential antitrust action against Amazon.com Inc., citing persons with knowledge of the situation.

According to the report, it was unclear which specific areas of Amazon's companies the FTC would target and when any cases may be brought.

The FTC and Amazon both declined to respond.

Throughout the Trump presidency, the panel started looking into Amazon. The business has come under fire for purportedly favoring its items on its platform while disfavoring independent vendors.

The WSJ said that the FTC has been investigating the company's Prime membership service's bundling tactics.

After addressing the EU's concerns over the use of seller data, Amazon struck a settlement with the European Union in three antitrust investigations in December, sparing the corporation from the punishment of up to 10% of its global revenue.

Last August, when the agency rejected an attempt by Amazon to block requests that both Chief Executive Andy Jassy and Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos testify at investigative hearings, outsiders were given a brief glimpse into the agency's relationship with Amazon. Amazon questioned the agency's requirements because they were "burdensome," according to Amazon, during the agency's assessment of the Prime program's enrollment and cancellation procedures.

The FTC and Justice Department are looking into all four sites. Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, has been sued twice by the Justice Department—once for its search business and once for advertising technology. Meta's Facebook has been sued by the FTC.

The FTC was unsuccessful in getting a court order to halt Meta's acquisition of the VR startup Within.