The American antitrust authority plans to attack Amazon’s online marketplace

(Reuters) – A U.S. antitrust regulator plans to file a lawsuit against major online marketplace Amazon.com in the coming weeks, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing documents and people familiar with the matter.

The report said the US Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) main allegation would be that Amazon uses its power to reward online sellers who use its logistics services and punish those who don’t.

The e-commerce giant did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The FTC declined to comment.

The potential lawsuit adds to the agency’s recent action against Amazon in recent weeks. The report shows that FTC Chief Lina Khan’s office has been working on the complaint for several months and is finalizing key details such as where to file the lawsuit.

The lawsuit will be one of several actions taken by President Joe Biden’s administration to rein in the excessive market power of Big Tech companies that seek to increase competition to protect consumers.

Just last week, the FTC accused Amazon of signing up millions of consumers to its paid Amazon Prime service without their consent and making it difficult for them to opt out.

The FTC is also investigating Amazon’s $1.7 billion deal to supply iRobot’s “Roomba” vacuum cleaner.

The report shows that the agency’s antitrust case regarding Amazon’s online marketplace has been ongoing for a long time. Amazon received the FTC’s notice of opening a preliminary investigation in June 2019, Bloomberg reported, citing the documents.

These documents included questions about how the use of Amazon’s warehousing and delivery services affected third-party sellers’ product placements on its online marketplace, including boxes on its website that further highlight products.

The report said the FTC also requested records regarding any arrangements Amazon made with Apple Inc. The two companies struck a deal to sell iPhones, iPads and other Apple devices on the Amazon marketplace in 2018.

(Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Pooja Desai)