Amazon Secures Partial Dismissal in US Antitrust Lawsuit, According to Reuters

By Jody Godoy

A federal court in Seattle has granted Amazon.com Inc. a partial dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which accused the company of maintaining illegal monopolies. The specifics of the ruling were not immediately disclosed.

The FTC has claimed that the online retail giant employs anti-competitive strategies to sustain its dominance in the online marketplace. In December, Amazon requested U.S. District Judge John Chun to dismiss the case, arguing that the FTC provided no evidence demonstrating harm to consumers.

In its allegations last year, the FTC contended that Amazon, which features around 1 billion items on its platform, utilized an algorithm that caused U.S. households to pay over $1 billion more in prices. Amazon countered that it ceased using this algorithm in 2019.

Judge Chun issued a sealed ruling, partially approving Amazon’s request for dismissal. The FTC is permitted to continue pursuing any claims that the judge did not dismiss permanently. Additionally, the judge determined that the case would proceed in two phases, rejecting Amazon’s request for the FTC to present evidence of the alleged infringements alongside proposed remedies in a single trial.

A spokesperson for the FTC refrained from commenting on the ruling, and there was no immediate response from an Amazon representative regarding the matter.

In its complaint, the FTC argued that Amazon undermines competition by incentivizing sellers to utilize its advertising and fulfillment services. Amazon contended that its price-matching and Prime shipping offerings are beneficial to consumers and reflect its competitive efforts against numerous online and physical retailers.

This lawsuit is one of five significant legal actions involving antitrust regulators from the FTC and the U.S. Department of Justice targeting major technology firms. Other tech giants, such as Meta Platforms and Apple, are also facing lawsuits, while Google is embroiled in two separate cases, including one in which a judge recently determined that the company unlawfully impeded competition in online search.

The Amazon case is particularly significant for FTC Chair Lina Khan, who has long advocated for challenging the dominance of the massive online retailer. Khan wrote a notable academic piece in 2017, arguing that Amazon’s practices and structure raised serious antitrust concerns that had previously evaded scrutiny.