(PatriotWise.com) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has called Amazon officials to meet with commissioners next week, in what is likely to be the final step before the agency files a long-awaited anti-trust lawsuit against the tech giant, Politico reported.
Next week’s “last rites” meetings with each of the three FTC commissioners is a clear sign that FTC Chair Lina Khan plans to move forward with the anti-trust lawsuit this month after the agency has spent years investigating Amazon’s practices.
In addition to its online store, Amazon also owns Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the One Medical primary care practice, and the grocery chain Whole Foods. Additionally, Amazon is one of the world’s largest cloud computing services.
A successful lawsuit could lead to the breakup of the $1.4 trillion Amazon e-commerce empire, the New York Times reported.
Federal officials have become increasingly concerned about the reach and influence of tech giants like Amazon, Meta, and Google.
The Department of Justice has filed multiple anti-trust lawsuits against Google, including two that are set to go to trial next month. The FTC has also filed suit against Meta over allegations that the tech company neutralized its competitors by purchasing WhatsApp and Instagram.
Amazon critic Stacy Mitchell, the co-executive director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, told the New York Times that she hopes the FTC will pursue its anti-trust lawsuit against the tech giant.
Mitchell said the FTC should focus on how Amazon hurts merchants and competitors by controlling the retail business, not just through its online store but also through the logistic network that delivers packages.
Calling the likely lawsuit a “watershed moment,” Mitchell told the Times that what the FTC must do is target “the core of Amazon’s monopolization strategy.”
Amazon has argued that efforts to regulate its business would harm both consumers and the retailers that sell products on its site.
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