The new excerpts unveiled Thursday allege executives at the e-commerce giant intentionally deleted communication by using a feature on the popular app Signal that makes messages disappear. By doing this, the FTC said Amazon “destroyed more than two years” worth of communications from June 2019 to “at least early 2022” despite instructions it gave Amazon not to do so.
In a prepared statement Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle called the FTC’s claim “baseless and irresponsible.”
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Amazon used a secret algorithm to essentially help raise prices on other online sites and also “destroyed” internal communications as the Federal Trade Commission undertook an antitrust investigation against it, according to newly unredacted portions of the agency’s lawsuit.
The new excerpts unveiled Thursday allege executives at the e-commerce giant intentionally deleted communication by using a feature on the popular app Signal that makes messages disappear.
The FTC and 17 states sued Amazon in September alleging the company was abusing its position in the marketplace to inflate prices on and off its platform, overcharge sellers and stifle competition.
Amazon is accused of violating federal and state antitrust laws, but the company has responded with a full-throated defense of its business practices.
The antitrust case is the most aggressive move the government has taken to tame the market power of Seattle-based Amazon and comes as the FTC has been taking big swings against tech companies.
The agency claimed then-CEO Jeff Bezos instructed executives to accept more junk ads — internally called “defects” — because the company could earn more money through increased advertising despite their presence being a headache for consumers.
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