Amazon loses effort to exclude Jassy and Bezos from testifying in FTC Prime probe

The Federal Trade Commission precocious Wednesday rejected Amazon's bid to exclude CEO Andy Jassy and laminitis Jeff Bezos from testifying successful a probe into the retail giant's Prime program.

In an order written by Republican Commissioner Christine Wilson and made nationalist connected the FTC's website, the bureau ruled that Amazon hadn't sufficiently proved that its docket for the executives' grounds would beryllium unduly burdensome. Still, the bureau did let for much prep clip earlier they springiness testimony.

"Amazon provides nary crushed wherefore the Commission indispensable judge thing little than each the applicable grounds it tin get from these 2 witnesses," the bid said.

Amazon lodged a ailment successful an August filing, claiming that the FTC's demands for accusation and grounds by apical executives were overly wide and burdensome. Amazon even accused FTC unit of harassing Bezos and Jassy for their participation.

Amazon said the FTC "made matters worse" erstwhile it informed the institution successful June that the bureau was expanding the scope of its probe to see different subscription programs, including Audible, Amazon Music, Kindle Unlimited and Subscribe & Save, according to the August filing.

The FTC has been investigating sign-up and cancellation processes for Amazon's Prime programme since March 2021. The bureau is looking into whether Amazon deceives users into signing up for Prime, portion failing to supply a elemental mode to cancel and debar recurring charges.

The Prime subscription program, which costs $139 a twelvemonth and includes perks similar escaped shipping, present has immoderate 200 cardinal subscribers worldwide.

Amazon said past period it has been complying with the FTC's requests truthful far, producing immoderate 37,000 pages of documents.

Amazon has navigated a tricky narration with the FTC nether Chair Lina Khan, who roseate to prominence arsenic a instrumentality pupil erstwhile she published "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox" successful the Yale Law Journal successful 2017. The institution sought Khan's recusal from antitrust probes into its business, citing her past critiques of its power.

Amazon gained immoderate concessions from the FTC, similar a regulation connected "catch-all" demands for information, which the committee said it would modify. The FTC besides laid retired a protocol for scheduling aboriginal hearings and clarified that witnesses should beryllium mostly allowed to take their ain counsel, barring definite conflicts.

"We're disappointed but unsurprised the FTC mostly declined to regularisation against itself, but we're pleased that the bureau walked backed its broadest requests and volition let witnesses to take their ain counsel," an Amazon spokesperson said successful a statement. "Amazon has cooperated with the FTC passim the probe and already produced tens of thousands of pages of documents. We are committed to engaging constructively with FTC staff, but we stay acrophobic that the latest requests are overly wide and needlessly burdensome, and we volition research each our options."

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