ECommerce

US Antitrust Case Against Amazon Is Set Proceed

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The lawsuit brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission against Amazon for allegedly suppressing competition in online retail is set to proceed, despite the fact that several states that joined the agency in the lawsuit had their claims dismissed, according to court records.

TakeAway Points:

  • The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s case accusing Amazon of stifling competition in online retail will move forward, though some of the states that sued alongside the agency had their claims dismissed, court documents showed.
  • The FTC has accused the online retailer of using anti-competitive tactics to maintain dominance among online superstores and marketplaces.
  • Amazon Fire televisions will now offer Freely, a new streaming service supported by the BBC, ITV, and other British public broadcasters, the firms announced on Monday.

US antitrust case against Amazon

U.S. District Judge John Chun in Seattle unsealed his ruling from Sept. 30, which dismissed some of the claims brought by attorneys general in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Oklahoma.

Last year, the FTC alleged Amazon.com, which has 1 billion items in its online superstore, was using an algorithm that pushed up prices U.S. households paid by more than $1 billion. Amazon has said in court papers it stopped using the program in 2019.

The FTC has accused the online retailer of using anti-competitive tactics to maintain dominance among online superstores and marketplaces.

Amazon asked Chun to dismiss the case in December, saying the FTC had raised no evidence of harm to consumers.

The judge said in his ruling that he cannot consider Amazon’s claims that its actions benefitted competition at this early stage in the case.

Amazon Fire TVs to host free streaming platform 

Freely, a new streaming service backed by the BBC, ITV, and other British public broadcasters, will be available on Amazon Fire televisions following a “landmark deal” with the U.S. technology giant, the companies said on Monday.

The deal is a win for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5, whose joint venture, called Everyone TV, launched Freely earlier this year, allowing viewers to stream both live TV and on-demand content for free when they purchase smart TVs carrying the service.

The tie-up will help take content from the four public broadcasters – which are required by UK law to offer programming beneficial to the public interest – to more British households through smart TVs using Amazon’s popular Fire operating system.

“A deal of this kind between a technology giant and those working in the public interest is remarkable,” Everyone TV Chief Executive Jonathan Thompson said.

“It represents a significant development in widening the availability of Freely and therefore ensuring UK audiences can access free TV well into the future.”

Freely’s launch in April marked the first time all four of Britain’s public service broadcasters joined hands to set up a streaming service, as they look to future-proof live TV in the age of streaming.

Freely offers 70,000 hours of on-demand content, more than any other major streaming platform in Britain, including Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV, according to data from London-based Ampere Analysis.

Everyone TV has also signed a deal with TV manufacturer TCL, which will include Freely in their new 2024 smart TVs, it said.

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