Judge partially dismisses FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon

A federal judge on Monday partially dismissed the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. 

However, few details are currently available about U.S. District Judge John Chun’s decision, which was filed under seal.  

Amazon asked the judge to dismiss the FTC’s lawsuit in December, arguing the practices the agency deemed anticompetitive are actually “common retail practices that presumptively benefit consumers.” 

The FTC and 17 states sued Amazon last September, accusing the e-commerce giant of engaging in anticompetitive practices that raise prices for shoppers and extract excessively high fees from sellers. 

The agency alleged Amazon uses tactics that deter other online retailers from offering lower prices and makes it more expensive for sellers to offer their products on other platforms by tying their eligibility for Prime to their use of Amazon’s fulfillment services. 

However, Amazon argued in its motion to dismiss in December that its pricing mechanism is a standard discounting tactic encouraged by antitrust laws. It also disputed the allegations that it conditions Prime eligibility on the use of its fulfillment services.

“Amazon promptly matches rivals’ discounts, features competitively priced deals rather than overpriced ones, and ensures best-in-class delivery for its Prime subscribers,” it argued in the filing. “Those practices—the targets of this antitrust Complaint— benefit consumers and are the essence of competition.” 

Amazon and the FTC declined to comment on Monday’s decision.