The government’s Amazon lawsuit explained | Amazon Anti-trust Lawsuit

In a new lawsuit, the Federal Trade Commission claims that Amazon makes it too easy for children to make purchases in mobile applications without their parents’ permission. (Amazon’s founder and CEO, Jeffrey P. Bezos, is also the owner of The Washington Post.)

The government’s Amazon lawsuit explained

Amazon’s brand is built on helping shoppers get what they want when they want it, but in some cases, it might be too easy to rack up charges. At least that’s what the federal government is saying. The Federal Trade Commission is suing Amazon, claiming that Amazon makes it too simple for children to make purchases in mobile apps without their parent’s permission. What does this mean exactly? Well, take the app Shopaholic World. The game is free to download. You can buy virtual clothes with fake coins. But once that pretend money runs out, you can use real money to purchase more coins, all without entering a password after your first purchase.

For this game, ninety-nine cents buys you 1000 coins, and those coins can disappear in a matter of seconds by clicking on a couple of digital cocktail dresses and strappy high heels. With apps like this one, some parents say they didn’t even hear about the purchases until after they were billed for hundreds of dollars. The FTC says unauthorized purchases amount to millions. But Amazon is fighting back, saying that it has built-in new barriers and a notification system that makes it harder to make these in-app buys. And at least one senator is siding with Amazon.

Deb Fischer from Nebraska, a Republican, wrote to the FTC, saying Amazon has, quote, fundamentally expanded and improved the American economy, and that lawsuits like this one constitute attacks on innovation that threaten future growth and opportunity. But there is precedent. Apple faced similar accusations and agreed to pay 5 million dollars to customers after it settled with the FTC in January.

Amazon Anti-trust Lawsuit

Amazon is under fire, accused of stifling competition. The prices are artificially inflated on Amazon’s site. California’s attorney general is talking about a new lawsuit from the state, claiming Amazon has violated antitrust laws. The suit claims, for years, the company has required sellers to enter into contracts that penalize them if their products are offered elsewhere at a lower price. The alleged punishments would include receiving a less prominent spot on the site or being taken off Amazon altogether.

According to the Attorney General, customers ultimately pay more, driving increasing costs for families across California. In order to avoid competing on prices with other online e-commerce sites, the lawsuit is asking Amazon to pay damages and stop entering into contracts that harm price competition. Amazon is vowing to fight the lawsuit, saying sellers set their own prices. The remedy the AG is requesting would compel Amazon to offer customers greater pricing.

Amazon has previously come under fire. It recently resolved two antitrust inquiries in both Europe and the United States. Federal officials launched an investigation over the summer into workplace safety concerns. ‘We work like a dog there. We work very hard, stand on our feet for 12 hours.’ Amazon insists safety is a top priority. The Federal Trade Commission is also investigating Amazon Prime sign-up and cancellation practices. Similar to California, Washington DC brought an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. Earlier this year, a court dismissed that complaint. Officials in California contend that the results of their two-year inquiry will be different.

US regulators, 17 states sue Amazon over alleged illegal monopoly

This Ottawa Bookstore sells thousands of titles, including how to resist Amazon and why I think that they should be challenged in their practices. They’re big enough that they have so much influence and so much reach. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and 17 states have launched a lawsuit accusing the company of exploiting its monopolies in ways that enrich Amazon but harm its customers. The woman leading the charge is FTC chairlena Khan, who rose to fame as a Yale law student with a paper about how antitrust laws have failed to rein in Amazon.

‘We think that there is enormous urgency here in terms of the harms that the American public is facing,’ the lawsuit alleges. Consumers are paying artificially higher prices because of tactics that make it impossible for rivals to compete, like blocking merchants from selling their products for less and forcing them to use and pay for Amazon’s delivery services.

Jeff Bezos started the company in his garage in 1994, selling books. ‘The most important thing is to be customer-obsessed.’ It’s since become the Everything store, now worth a whopping 1.3 trillion dollars U.S. In the States, there’s been a trend over the last few years to go after the term ‘big Tech,’ and so I think this is just the next iteration. Amazon says Federal Trade Regulators have their facts wrong and that the FTC’s focus has radically departed from its mission of protecting consumers and competition. The FTC is asking the court to consider forcing Amazon to sell its assets. The appetite for breaking up companies that make our lives easier and cheaper is low. Canada’s Competition Bureau declined to comment when asked whether a similar investigation is underway here, but Canadian regulators are likely following this lawsuit very closely.

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