The United States has sued Amazon, kicking off a long-awaited antitrust fight with the e-commerce giant that could change the way Americans shop. As reported by The New York Times, the Federal Trade Commission and 17 states have filed a lawsuit accusing the company of illegally stifling competition. In their opinion, in fact, the company founded by Jeff Bezos illegally maintains a monopoly on online retail sectors by crushing merchants and favoring its own services.
“The lawsuit makes clear how the FTC’s focus has radically shifted away from its mandate to protect consumers and competition,” he said. David Zapolsky, Senior Vice President, Amazon Global Public Policy & General Counsel – The practices challenged by the FTC have helped spur competition and innovation throughout the retail industry and have resulted in greater product selection, lower prices and delivery speeds for Amazon customers as well as greater opportunities for the numerous companies that sell in the Amazon store. If the FTC were to prevail, the result would be fewer products to choose from, higher prices, slower deliveries for consumers, and fewer solutions for small businesses—the opposite of what the law intended. antitrust was conceived. The lawsuit filed today by the FTC is factually and legally wrong, and we are ready to make our case in court.”