By David Shepardson and Diane Bartz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Amazon.com is set to meet next week with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ahead of a potential long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against the retailer, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The FTC began probing Amazon during the Trump administration. The company has been criticized for allegedly favoring its own products and disfavoring outside sellers on its platform, among other allegations. Amazon denies this. The FTC typically holds meetings with companies after lengthy investigations before deciding whether to file a suit.
The FTC declined comment on the planned meeting.
The Justice Department and FTC opened probes into four tech giants – Alphabet’s Google, Meta’s Facebook, Apple and Amazon – during the Trump administration. That was followed by a major report by a House panel that discussed how the four companies dominate their industries.
The Justice Department has sued Alphabet’s Google twice, once regarding its search business and a second time on advertising technology. The FTC has sued Meta’s Facebook. None of the three cases has yet gone to trial.
The FTC in June sued Amazon, accusing it of enrolling millions of consumers into its paid subscription Amazon Prime service without their consent and making it hard for them to cancel. Amazon called the FTC’s claims “false on the facts and the law.”
The FTC on May 31 announced a $5.8 million settlement with Amazon’s Ring doorbell camera unit after the agency said cameras had been used for spying on some customers. Amazon also agreed in May agreed to pay $25 million to settle FTC allegations it violated children’s privacy rights by failing to delete Alexa virtual assistant recordings at the request of parents and keeping them longer than necessary.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Diane BartzEditing by Chris Reese and Mark Potter)
