FTC Accusations Against Amazon.com:
- Accused of using anti-discounting measures that penalize sellers and discourage other online retailers from offering prices lower than Amazon's.
- FTC is seeking a permanent injunction in federal court to prevent Amazon from continuing its alleged unlawful conduct.
- US Federal Trade Commission and 17 US state attorneys general are suing Amazon for 'illegally maintaining monopoly power'.
- FTC Chair Khan accuses Amazon of using coercive tactics to unlawfully uphold its monopolies.
- Amazon's schemes reportedly influence hundreds of billions in retail sales annually, affecting over 100 million shoppers.
- Allegedly biases Amazon's search results to favor its own products over higher quality ones.
- Accused of imposing 'costly' fees on hundreds of thousands of sellers dependent on Amazon for business.
Amazon replies to lawsuit saying:
- if FT C antitrust suit successful, the results would be fewer products to choose from, higher prices, slower deliveries for consumers
- FTC lawsuit is wrong on the facts, and the law, and we look forward to making that case in court
Shares of Amazon are trading down $3.95 or -3.01% $127.30.
The overall stock market is sharply lower with:
- Dow industrial average -296 points or -0.87% at 33711
- S&P index is down -48.82 points or -1.13% at 4288.65
- NASDAQ index is down -162 points or -1.22% at 13110.79
