Amazon’s Defiant Stand Against the FTC
Amazon vs. the FTC
AMazon’s Perspective
It appears that shortly after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made their claims against the e-commerce giant, Amazon produced an official statement on their company news page. They first establish their stance in the issue by reiterating the FTC’s original purpose, to facilitate competition amongst many different firms with ingenious ideas.
Amazon continues, saying that what the FTC has brought upon the company is directly in opposition to their foundational values as a governmental agency. They even go as far to say that, “The lawsuit filed by the FTC today is wrong on the facts and the law, and we look forward to making that case in court” (Zapolsky). This shows Amazon’s strong stance in defending their business practices, they firmly believe that the FTC has no grounds for a lawsuit.
The Lawsuit’s Potential Impact
In addition to explaining how the FTC Is trying to hinder Amazon as a company and how they are falsely accusing the firm, Amazon furthers their analysis of the situation by showcasing the impact this lawsuit would have if the FTC is successful. They further defend themselves saying that with an FTC win, this would lead Amazon to modify their business tactics that ultimately hurt consumers and businesses that sell through the site. In which, they go on to say that there would be an increase prices and a decrease in delivery speeds.
AMazon’s Practices
Amazon explains that the company proactively tries to, “match other retailers’ low prices – online and offline” (Zapolsky). Whereas the FTC sees this as antitrust activity, Amazon disproves that notion by explaining that other sellers have the free reign to set their prices, and Amazon even tries to help them increase sales or even educate them on how to price item competitively.
In which Amazon would then work to highlight the items that offer good deals to consumers, another tactic the FTC sees an issue with. Amazon’s statement also includes that, “It’s part of our commitment to featuring low prices to earn and maintain customer trust…” (Zapolsky). Saying that they still are featuring lower priced items, just not facilitating promotion for them.
to Sum
It is quite clear that Amazon knows what they are doing, they have a good understanding of their practices and how they relate to the FTC. They are facing the issue head-on and thoroughly explaining their disagreement. The tech giant immediately proclaimed their actions, what the FTC is pinpointing, and how they plan to proceed with the issue. Amazon refuses to back down to almost, what they view as, hypocritical claims.
References
Zapolsky, D. (2023, September 26). Amazon’s Response to FTC Antitrust Lawsuit. About Amazon. https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-response-to-ftc-antitrust-lawsuit#:~:text=Read%20Amazon’s%20response%20to%20the%20FTC’s%20antitrust%20complaint&text=The%20lawsuit%20filed%20by%20the,for%20consumers%E2%80%94and%20hurt%20businesses.
Zapolsky, D. (2023, September 26). Amazon’s Response to the FTC Antitrust Lawsuit. Amazon. https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-ftc-antitrust-lawsuit-full-response
I like the way you summed it up. I think it’s a good business move for Amazon to face the FTC with a strong force. It shows the kind of strong and secure company they are.
Exactly! I expect there to be a challenging journey for the FTC to find success against the tech giant.
It seems that Amazon has a very solid understanding of its practices and legality. I believe the FTC will have trouble proving their allegations against Amazon. I wonder if the FTC is going this strong in their case because of how powerful Amazon is and if they would do the same if a company was operating the same way but was smaller in size.
I agree. I feel as if this wasn’t involving a major corporation like Amazon, maybe the FTC wouldn’t be so strong-headed towards another company. But also, it is slightly against the FTC’s morals when they say they want to promote a healthy business environment, but may react to other brands with different mindsets.