U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Lina Khan did not explicitly call for Amazon to be broken up, but she said that if the antitrust lawsuit succeeds, the FTC will ask a judge to stop the company's "illegal behavior." Khan, in his first public remarks since the FTC launched an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, said businesses that want to sell products online are effectively forced to pay Amazon's prices, which include advertising and logistics service fees.
"At the very least, any relief would require these companies to stop these tactics," Khan said on Tuesday. "Effective relief would also require restoring competition in this market, and we will ask the judge to do that."
The lawsuit filed Tuesday by the FTC and 17 states does not ask for specific remedies but mentions "structural relief." This antitrust term usually means divesting assets or breaking up a business. Amazon said it would launch a legal challenge to the FTC's lawsuit, saying the FTC's demands would lead to higher prices and harm businesses that rely on Amazon to provide goods to shoppers.
"This case is about competition lost due to Amazon's monopolistic and illegal tactics," Khan said.
Khan acknowledged that antitrust cases often take a long time, but said that the FTC will seek to move the case "expeditiously" and that because of the stakes in the case, the FTC considers it urgent.
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