Amazon to soon face big FTC antitrust suit over online marketplace power, report says

Amazon volition soon look a long-anticipated antitrust suit from the Federal Trade Commission, Bloomberg reported connected Thursday.

The ailment is expected to absorption connected Amazon's online marketplace and however the institution uses its powerfulness to favour merchants that usage its logistics services, Bloomberg reported based connected documents it reviewed and 3 unnamed sources acquainted with the case. The ailment could beryllium filed successful the coming weeks, Bloomberg said.

Such a suit would a immense milestone for FTC Chair Lina Khan, who became a known fig successful the antitrust satellite successful 2017 erstwhile The Yale Law Journal published her note, "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox." In it, Khan argued that the prevailing antitrust model astatine the clip failed to adequately measure Amazon's immense powerfulness and the ways it could usage it to harm competition.

Her past penning is portion of what sparked Amazon to ask for her recusal from its antitrust cases due to the fact that the institution believes she lacks impartiality successful the matter. Meta made a akin request, but Khan has truthful acold declined to beryllium out.

The FTC has already taken enactment against Amazon successful different areas, including a caller user extortion suit alleging the level has used deceptive tactics to get users to motion up for its Prime subscriptions and "sabotaged" their attempts to cancel. It besides precocious settled 2 abstracted cases alleging privateness lapses successful its Alexa dependable adjunct and Ring video information products.

But the antitrust ailment against Amazon's halfway concern is the enactment astir FTC-watchers person been waiting for. According to Bloomberg, the expected ailment is based successful portion connected grounds the FTC has collected that Amazon allegedly disadvantages sellers that don't usage its logistics services.

While it's imaginable for some parties to scope a colony earlier charges are formally filed, Khan has signaled she prefers structural changes similar breakups implicit promises from companies to alteration their behavior, which marque a colony little likely.

The FTC declined to remark to CNBC and Amazon did not instantly respond to a request.

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