Amazon Targeted by US FTC, Antitrust Lawsuit is Allegedly In the Offing

Amazon is reportedly being targeted for a lawsuit related to its marketplace operations. It was said that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may file a case against the e-commerce giant for some anti-trust violations.

Based on the reports, the FTC has long been eyeing the filing of an anti-trust lawsuit against Amazon and the case involves the company’s marketplace. While there is no confirmation yet, the suit may be filed in the coming weeks and this was shared by sources who have knowledge of the matter, as per Reuters.

The main complaint that will be filed by the U.S. regulators alleges that Amazon makes use of its power or authority to reward online merchants that avail of the company’s logistics services and those who look for other solutions are allegedly penalized. This case is likely to be added to FTC’s latest action against the company.

The lawsuit is already in the last stage and the agency is just polishing the key details before the filing. The group has been gathering the details for months so the final papers are expected to be detailed and with complete information to back up the claims.

Fox Business also mentioned that the FTC initially launched the very first investigation on Amazon’s marketplace practices in June 2019. The officials described the actions of the company as "coercive or deceptive user-interface designs." This is because aside from the issue in the use of Amazon’s logistics services, it also uses "dark patterns" to keep customers in its Prime program.

"The FTC’s claims are false on the facts and the law. The truth is that customers love Prime, and by design, we make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up for or cancel their Prime membership,” the spokesperson of Amazon told Fox Business. “As with all our products and services, we continually listen to customer feedback and look for ways to improve the customer experience, and we look forward to the facts becoming clear as this case plays out."

The spokesman added, "We also find it concerning that the FTC announced this lawsuit without notice to us, in the midst of our discussions with FTC staff members to ensure they understand the facts, context, and legal issues, and before we were able to have a dialog with the Commissioners themselves before they filed a lawsuit. While the absence of that normal course engagement is extremely disappointing, we look forward to proving our case in court.”

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