Tracker Detail
FTC v. Amazon.com
Name | Type | Government | Date Initiated | Status | Last Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FTC v. Amazon.com | Litigation | United States | Sep 26, 2023 | Motion to dismiss denied in part and granted in part | Nov 14, 2024 |
Summary
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 18 state attorneys general (AGs), and Puerto Rico filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon for illegally maintaining monopoly power in the online shopping market. The FTC and states allege that the company engaged in anti-competitive conduct, including:
- Anti-discounting measures that punish sellers and deter other online retailers from offering prices lower than Amazon
- Conditioning sellers’ ability to obtain “Prime” eligibility for their products on sellers using Amazon’s costly fulfillment service, making it more expensive for sellers on Amazon to also offer their products on other platforms
- Degrading the customer experience by replacing relevant, organic search results with paid advertisements that worsen search quality
- Biasing Amazon’s search results to preference Amazon’s own products
- Charging costly fees on the hundreds of thousands of sellers that rely on Amazon to stay in business
Updates
November 2, 2023. The FTC filed a redacted complaint with the court.
December 8, 2023. Amazon filed a motion to dismiss the case.
February 6, 2024. The FTC filed an opposition to Amazon's motion to dismiss.
March 14, 2024. The FTC filed a redacted amended complaint.
March 22, 2024. Amazon filed a reply to FTC's opposition to the motion to dismiss.
April 25, 2024. The FTC alleged that top executives at Amazon used Signal's encrypted messaging app instead of email to discuss sensitive business matters, including antitrust. The FTC filed a motion to compel Amazon to produce documents related to the company's document preservation notices and instructions about the use of ephemeral messaging applications, including Signal.
May 13, 2024. Amazon filed an opposition to the FTC's motion to compel. FTC filed a reply on May 23, 2024.
July 9, 2024. The court denies the FTC's motion to compel.
September 30, 2024. District court judge John H. Chun denied Amazon's motion to dismiss in part and granted in part. The order allowed the FTC's claims under Section 2 of the Sherman Act and Section 5(a) of the FTC Act to proceed. The order also allowed claims under state equivalents to the Sherman Act to proceed. However, it dismissed claims made under Pennsylvania Common Law and some claims made under state consumer protection statutes. Finally, the order agreed to hold separate proceedings on liability and remedies in the case.
October 31, 2024. The FTC and state AGs filed a second amended complaint.
November 14, 2024. Amazon filed both a motion to dismiss counts XIV, XV, and XIX of the suit over a failure to state a claim as well as a reply to the FTC's second amended complaint.
Additional Resources
Federal Trade Commission v. Amazon.com Inc (2:23-cv-01495) - CourtListener
Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon eCommerce) - Federal Trade Commission
