US market regulator prepares antitrust complaint against Amazon

The FTC, the US market regulator, is preparing a possible antitrust case against Amazon, according to The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. Several of Amazon’s business activities could be seen as anti-competitive, although the FTC has not yet made a decision.

This could include whether Amazon gives its own products a preferential position over those of other sellers, writes The Wall Street Journal based on interviews with insiders. The ‘bundling practices’ of the Amazon Prime subscription service are also being scrutinized, according to the daily. In addition, users receive advantages on the webshop, such as faster shipping, and access to Amazon’s streaming service. The FTC has not yet decided what practices will be addressed in any lawsuit, according to the WSJ.

The FTC reportedly wants to talk to Amazon first to hear the company’s arguments about the potentially anti-competitive practices. The WSJ reports that it is possible that the American watchdog will ultimately not proceed to a lawsuit, as it has often happened that the FTC decided to leave it at that after such preparations.

Bloomberg also writes based on proprietary sources about a possible FTC antitrust suit against Amazon. The news agency does not, like the WSJ, cite examples of potentially anti-competitive practices, but says that acquisitions such as that of Roomba maker iRobot could be included. According to Bloomberg, a case may be filed as early as this spring.

Last year, Amazon signed an agreement with the European Commission, in which the tech giant promised to stop misusing the data of third-party sellers on the sales site for its own gain. The company was also no longer allowed to favor its own products.