The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has accused top Amazon executives, including founder Jeff Bezos and CEO Andy Jassy, of destroying text messages discussing business matters amid the agency's antitrust probe against the company.
The FTC alleges that between April 2019 and May 2022, Bezos and Jassy, among other Amazon executives communicated using Signal, which has a feature that deletes messages, thereby erasing evidence the FTC could have used in its antitrust case against Amazon.
The use of encrypted messaging platforms like Signal for business communications can complicate regulatory investigations as messages can be set to self-destruct, which could make it more challenging for authorities to access crucial evidence.
The FTC claims that Amazon failed to preserve these documents, which it was required to do as part of the ongoing antitrust investigation.
In September 2023, the FTC filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the company of operating an illegal monopoly and using anticompetitive practices to keep competitors from gaining a foothold in the digital retail market. These strategies apparently included punishing sellers that offer lower prices away from Amazon and aggressively pushing them to obtain Prime status for their goods, which makes it substantially more expensive for sellers to also offer their products on other platforms.
In December 2023, Amazon asked the court to dismiss the FTC's lawsuit, arguing the agency "confused common retail practices with anticompetitive conduct." The FTC then asked the court to reject Amazon's request stating that it has laid out how Amazon is a monopolist and has explained how the company unlawfully maintains its monopoly power.
A U.S. federal judge has set an October 2026 trial date for the FTC's antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. Both the FTC and Amazon are currently debating the schedule, scope, and rationale of the case.
You can read the lawsuit details here.
Via Bloomberg (paywall)
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