The Implications of Amazon’s Antitrust Lawsuit Dismissal: A Deep Dive

Yasir AliOctober 1, 2024

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The Implications of Amazon's Antitrust Lawsuit Dismissal: A Deep Dive

Delve into the ramifications of the dismissal of Amazon’s antitrust lawsuit. Our in-depth examination reveals insights into market dynamics and future trends.

A federal judge in Seattle on Monday partially dismissed a lawsuit brought by the US Federal Trade Commission against Amazon.com Inc., alleging that the company maintained illegal monopolies. The specifics of the decision were not immediately apparent.

The online retailer is being accused by the Federal Trade Commission of employing anti-competitive strategies to preserve its dominance over online marketplaces and superstores. In December, this e-commerce platform requested that the case be dismissed by the United States District Court Judge John Chun on the grounds that the Federal Trade Commission had not presented any proof of customer injury.

Amazon’s Dominance Under Fire as FTC Loses Bid to Prove Anticompetitive Practices

The Federal Trade Commission claimed last year that Amazon.com, an online superstore with one billion items, was employing an algorithm to raise the prices that American households had to pay by over one billion dollars. In court documents, this e-commerce platform stated that it discontinued its use of the software in 2019.

Chun granted a secret verdict, partially approving Amazon’s motion. According to court documents, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will have been permitted to go after any claims that the judge didn’t irrevocably reject.

Additionally, Chun rejected e-commerce platform ‘s request that the Federal Trade Commission provide proof of the claimed violations and its suggested remedies at the same trial, ruling that the case would be heard in two phases.

A Federal Trade Commission representative declined to offer commentary on the directive. When contacted for comment, an e-commerce platform representative did not answer right away.

Big Tech Under Siege: Amazon’s Partial Victory in FTC Lawsuit Fuels Antitrust Probe

The e-commerce platform is allegedly stifling competition by pressuring vendors to utilize its advertising and fulfilment services, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s complaint from the previous year. In its move to have the case dismissed, this e-commerce platform said that its price-matching as well as Prime shipping policies help customers and are an indication of its competitiveness against thousands of physical and virtual competitors.

Antitrust officials from the Federal Trade Commission and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are pursuing Big Tech in five major lawsuits, including this one. Apple and Meta Platforms, the company that owns Facebook, are also being sued. Alphabet’s Google is also involved in two lawsuits, one of which was determined by a judge to have illegally prevented internet search engine competition.

Since she has long campaigned to question the authority of the massive online retailer, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan views the Amazon.com case as crucial. Khan authored a significant scholarly study in 2017 contending that the business’s policies and organizational structure raised anticompetitive issues and had evaded antitrust investigation.