Amazon asked a federal court on Friday to dismiss a US government antitrust lawsuit which accuses the company of using illegal strategies to boost profits at its online retail empire, including an algorithm thatĀ allegedlyĀ pushed up prices by more than $1 billion.
In its motion to dismiss,Ā AmazonĀ said the Federal Trade Commission, in aĀ lawsuitĀ filed in September, confused ācommon retail practicesā with anticompetitive conduct and failed to identify harm to consumers.
āAmazonĀ promptly matches rivalsā discounts, features competitively priced deals rather than overpriced ones, and ensures best-in class delivery for its Prime subscribers,āĀ the company said in asking for the lawsuit to be ādismissed in its entirety.ā
The FTC lawsuit was one of four that the Trump and Biden administrations have filed since 2020 against the companies that dominate the internet.
The Biden team has primarily focused on ordinary consumer items like housing, food and airline tickets.
The FTC lawsuit saidĀ Amazon, which has 1 billion items in its online superstore, created a āsecret algorithmā named Project Nessie to identify products for which it can raise prices without losing customers. The FTC saidĀ AmazonĀ used Project Nessie to extract more than $1 billion from Americans.
In its filing,Ā AmazonĀ said Nessie was discontinued in 2019 and that the company matches other companiesā lowest prices.
The FTC was also critical ofĀ Amazonās decision to require sellers under the companyās Prime feature to use its logistics and delivery services even though many preferred to use a cheaper service or one that would also serve customers on other platforms.
Amazon said that usingĀ Amazonās fulfillment services was voluntary, including for products sold under its Prime service.
AmazonāsĀ average fees for sellers usingĀ its fulfillment services increased from 27% in 2014 to 39.5% in 2018, the FTC said.
AmazonĀ also argued that it competedĀ withĀ other online superstores like Walmart and Target,Ā andĀ a range of storesĀ withĀ specializedĀ marketssuch asĀ Best Buy, Home Depot, Kroger, Costco, Staples, Walgreens, Nike and Apple.
āThe complaintās āonline superstoreā market is implausible because it suggests, for example, that consumers would not consider buying a low-priced TV on Bestbuy.com only because Best Buy does not also sell shoes,āĀ AmazonĀ argued.
Source: NYPOST