Report: FTC investigates Amazon Marketplace
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly probing Amazon over possible antitrust violations related to its Marketplace platform.
According to Bloomberg, FTC investigators, including attorneys and an economist, have been interviewing small businesses that sell products on the Amazon Marketplace third-party e-commerce platform. The interviews, which typically last 90 minutes, are said to cover topics including what percentage of their revenue the businesses obtain from Marketplace sales.
Several antitrust experts said these interviews are most likely the early stages of a “sweeping probe” into how the e-tail giant operates the Marketplace platform. Bloomberg spoke to at least three Marketplace merchants who said they have been interviewed by the FTC. Amazon declined to comment.
In June 2019, The Washington Post reported the FTC would place Amazon under closer scrutiny for potential antitrust violations as part of a larger federal probe into tech giants Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Apple. In July 2019, representatives of all four companies testified in a Washington, D.C., hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel.
To read the full Bloomberg article, click here.
According to Bloomberg, FTC investigators, including attorneys and an economist, have been interviewing small businesses that sell products on the Amazon Marketplace third-party e-commerce platform. The interviews, which typically last 90 minutes, are said to cover topics including what percentage of their revenue the businesses obtain from Marketplace sales.
Several antitrust experts said these interviews are most likely the early stages of a “sweeping probe” into how the e-tail giant operates the Marketplace platform. Bloomberg spoke to at least three Marketplace merchants who said they have been interviewed by the FTC. Amazon declined to comment.
In June 2019, The Washington Post reported the FTC would place Amazon under closer scrutiny for potential antitrust violations as part of a larger federal probe into tech giants Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Apple. In July 2019, representatives of all four companies testified in a Washington, D.C., hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel.
To read the full Bloomberg article, click here.