FTC readies antitrust lawsuit against Amazon that could break up company

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is finalising its long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against Amazon in a move that could ultimately break up parts of the company, Politico reported on Tuesday.

The wide-ranging lawsuit is expected as soon as August and will likely challenge a host of Amazon’s business practices, the report said. 

The complaint could focus on challenges to Amazon Prime, Amazon rules that the FTC says block lower prices on competing websites, and policies it believes force merchants to use Amazon's logistics and advertising services, the report said.

The commission has interviewed dozens of witnesses both inside and outside Amazon, including CEO Andy Jassy and former CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, the report said, adding that it is likely to file its case in federal court rather than its in-house tribunal.

Politico did not mention the exact details of the final lawsuit, but said personnel throughout the agency, including FTC Chair Lina Khan, have homed in on several of Amazon's business practices.

The e-commerce giant's digital advertising business and Amazon Prime will likely be targeted, the report said, adding that the FTC is also expected to claim that Amazon steers sellers to its own logistics services by rewarding them with better placement on the site, and punishing them when they don't.

Firm offers marketplace rule change

Amazon has agreed to change the way it deals with rivals’ sales data and to treat all sellers equally on its UK platform after an investigation by the country’s antitrust agency. The Competition and Markets Authority said that Amazon offered a number of promises to change the way it treats third-party sellers in UK. The move comes after the technology company offered a similar truce to European regulators in December.It opened the probe last year after it raised a number of concerns including how it used user data to give the platform an unfair advantage and the way its Buy Box for showcasing specific offers unduly favored its own retail business. Bloomberg