FTC may file suit against Amazon later this month

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission may file a lawsuit later this month against Amazon.com after the company did not offer concessions to settle antitrust claims, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The lawsuit will target the company’s logistics program, Fulfillment by Amazon, pricing on its website by third-party sellers and will suggest “structural remedies” that could break the company up, the report said on Tuesday.

Amazon and the regulator declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
The company’s shares, which have gained about 63% so far this year, edged 0.4% lower in extended trading.

The probe began during former President Donald Trump‘s administration when the government decided to investigate Amazon, Google, Meta Platforms and Apple for allegedly breaking antitrust law.

Amazon has been criticized for allegedly favoring its own products and disfavoring outside sellers on its platform, among other allegations. The company has denied the allegations.

FTC chairperson Lina Khan authored a Yale Law Journal article in 2017, in which she said Amazon’s structure and practices posed anticompetitive concerns and has escaped antitrust scrutiny.

In June, the regulator sued Amazon accusing the company of enrolling millions of consumers into its $139-per-year paid subscription service without their consent and making it hard for them to cancel the plan.