In FTC's Antitrust Case, Amazon Disputes Allegations of Consumer Harm

The US Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust case against Amazon.com Inc. relies on anecdotal evidence from a handful of online merchants and fails to prove that the online retailer’s practices hurt consumers, the Seattle company’s lawyers argued in a motion to dismiss the complaint. The motion challenges a key assertion made by the agency that Amazon causes prices to go up on competing websites. Online brands and merchants have testified that they don’t offer lower prices on other sites because Amazon, which captures more than one-third of online spending in the US, will punish them by making their products less visible on Amazon.