US antitrust case against Amazon to move forward
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In 2023, the FTC alleged Amazon.com was using an algorithm that pushed up prices US households paid by over US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion).
PHOTO: REUTERS
SEATTLE - The US Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) case accusing Amazon of stifling competition in online retail will move forward, though some of the states that sued alongside the agency had their claims dismissed, court documents showed.
US District Judge John Chun in Seattle unsealed his ruling from Sept 30, which dismissed some of the claims brought by attorneys-general in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Oklahoma.
In 2023, the FTC alleged that Amazon.com, which has one billion items in its online superstore, was using an algorithm that pushed up prices US households paid by more than US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion). Amazon has said in court papers it stopped using the programme in 2019.
The FTC has accused the online retailer of using anti-competitive tactics to maintain dominance among online superstores and marketplaces.
Amazon asked Judge Chun to dismiss the case in December, saying the FTC had raised no evidence of harm to consumers.
The judge said in his ruling that he cannot consider Amazon’s claims that its actions benefited competition at this early stage in the case. REUTERS
