FTC Reportedly Preparing Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon Over Prime and Seller Rules

The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to file an antitrust suit against Amazon.

Key points:

The FTC is targeting Amazon Prime and allegations of pushing third-party sellers to use its services.
The FTC also believes that Amazon prevents products from being sold for less on rival platforms.
This would be the fourth legal action taken by the FTC against Amazon this year.

engadget.com

Relevant topic timeline:

6/26/2023

Amazon, Friction, and the FTC

The article discusses the recent lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Amazon. The FTC alleges that Amazon enrolled consumers into Amazon Prime without their consent and made it difficult for them to cancel their subscriptions. The FTC claims that Amazon used manipulative user-interface designs known as "dark patterns" to trick consumers into signing up for Prime and made the cancellation process complex and confusing. The article argues that while there may be validity to the FTC's complaints, the overall value proposition of Prime seems positive for consumers. It also highlights the trade-offs involved in the removal of friction in e-commerce and questions the FTC's approach to regulating big tech companies.

8/7/2023

Amazon will reportedly meet with the FTC ahead of potential antitrust lawsuit

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8/16/2023

Amazon pinches sellers: Use our costly logistics services or pay extra fee

Main topic: Amazon's decision to charge an extra fee to sellers who bypass its logistics services. Key points: 1. The FTC is expected to file an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. 2. Amazon is facing scrutiny for how it treats sellers on its platform. 3. Amazon will start charging a two percent fee on each sale for sellers who ship their own products instead of using Amazon's logistics services.

9/1/2023

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9/20/2023

FTC Sues Amazon, Alleging Deceptive Prime Signup Tactics

The Federal Trade Commission has updated its complaint against Amazon, adding three senior executives as defendants, alleging that top Amazon executives downplayed employee concerns about customers being enrolled in the Prime subscription program without their consent.

9/21/2023

FTC Sues Amazon, Alleging Deceptive Tactics to Sign Up and Retain Prime Subscribers

The US FTC has accused three senior Amazon employees of using deceptive tactics to sign people up for Prime and making it difficult for them to cancel, according to an ongoing court case.

9/22/2023

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Posted 9/22/2023, 7:45:24 PM