Amazon must face landmark FTC antitrust lawsuit, judge says

The order, issued last week by Judge John H. Chun and unsealed Monday, is a major defeat for Amazon, which has tried for months to have the case thrown out. A trial in the case is scheduled for October 2026.

“We are pleased with the court’s decision and look forward to moving this case forward,” FTC spokesman Doug Farrar said in a prepared statement. “The ways in which Amazon illegally maintains its monopolies and the harm it causes — including suppression of competition and higher prices for buyers and sellers — will be fully exposed at trial.”

The FTC and attorneys general of 18 states, plus Puerto Rico, have argued in court that the e-commerce giant abuses its market position to inflate prices on and off its platform, overcharge sellers and stifle emerging competition. .

The lawsuit, which was filed in September 2023, is the result of a years-long investigation into the company’s business and is one of the most significant legal challenges brought against Amazon in its nearly 30-year history.

US regulators and state attorneys general accuse the online retailer of violating federal and state antitrust and consumer protection laws.

In the order, Judge Chun of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington allowed the federal challenges and many of the state’s claims to proceed. But he rejected some claims made by New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Maryland under state antitrust or consumer protection laws.

Amazon, for its part, has expressed confidence that it can prove its case in court as the case progresses

“Decision at this early stage requires the court to assume that all facts alleged in the complaint are true. They are not,” Tim Doyle said in a statement, adding that the agency’s case “falsely” claims that consumers only consider the popular sites Walmart.com, Target.com, Amazon and eBay when shopping for products. household use.

“Next, the FTC will have to prove its claims in court, and we are confident that these claims will not hold up when the FTC has to prove them with evidence,” Doyle said. He also said the FTC’s approach “would make shopping more difficult and expensive.”

The FTC is also suing Meta Platforms for alleged monopolistic practices, while the Department of Justice has brought similar lawsuits against Apple and Google with some success.

In August, a federal judge ruled that Google’s ubiquitous search engine was illegally exploiting its dominance to drive out competition and stifle innovation.

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