Big Tech companies have been accused of monopolising the internet space, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has filed an antitrust complaint against Tech giant Amazon.com on Tuseday urging the court to consider ordering the online retailer to sell assets.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged that Amazon has resisted efforts by vendors on its online marketplace to provide goods at lower prices on other platforms.
According to the FTC, Amazon increases expenses for buyers and sellers by requiring vendors to use its warehouses and shipping services.
The FTC claims that Amazon is a monopoly that abuses its power. After years of warnings that Amazon.com and other computer firms were using their dominance of search, social networking, and online retailing to become gatekeepers on the most lucrative portions of the internet, the lawsuit was anticipated.
The court was urged by the FTC complaint to take into account “any preliminary or permanent equitable relief, including but not limited to structural relief, necessary to restore fair competition,” which will mean in antitrust lingo that the company sells a portion of its business.
According to Amazon, the FTC case was misguided and would harm consumers by forcing up costs and slowing down deliveries.
According to David Zapolsky, general counsel at Amazon, “the practises the FTC is challenging have helped to spur competition and innovation across the retail industry, and have produced greater selection, lower prices, and faster delivery speeds for Amazon customers as well as greater opportunity for the many businesses that sell in Amazon’s store.” The business mentioned having 500,000 independent retailers on the site in a blog post.