Consumer Group Slams Frivolous, Ideological FTC Suit Against Amazon

For Immediate Release              Contact: Courtney Mattison: (202) 525-7492 

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA), a nonprofit, nonpartisan taxpayer and consumer advocacy group is calling out the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for pursuing a frivolous and partisan antitrust case against Amazon that will harm taxpayers and consumers.

TPA Executive Director Patrick Hedger offered the following analysis:

“The current FTC (an explicitly partisan three to zero Democratic majority) is headed by Chair Lina Khan, who rose to prominence with her extensive criticism of Amazon. Prior to her tenure at the FTC, Khan was legal director at the Open Markets Institute. As recently as 2013, the Open Markets Institute’s Executive Director, Barry Lynn, called for the government to break up Walmart. The pattern of crying ‘monopoly’ by antitrust activists ought to be clear. There is nothing behind this FTC’s repeated frivolous cases, from unsuccessful suits against Meta and Microsoft to this most recent case against Amazon other than ideology. The FTC and its allies want to micromanage the economy by handicapping its most successful competitors.

“For the last half century courts have recognized antitrust law should protect consumers and competition, not punish or reward specific competitors. This has allowed American firms to outclass global counterparts in countless industries, particularly in the tech sector. The explicit goal of this FTC and its allies elsewhere in government is to turn this successful model on its head. They are pursuing a participation trophy model for the economy, where no firm is allowed to ever be the most competitive for any appreciable amount of time. Under their vision, success is to be rewarded with handcuffs and flagrant violations of companies’ property rights, regardless of the consumer experience.

“This antitrust agenda will only breed stagnation and harm consumers. Amazon became the company it is today because it saw an opportunity to challenge Walmart. This was an opportunity that obviously wasn’t visible to the exact same people who now think they know what’s better for consumers than consumers themselves. If all that entrepreneurs and investors see going forward is a finish-line made of red tape, innovation and competition will suffer and so too will the American consumer.

“Amazon is a small fraction of the overall retail market at around ten percent, still behind Walmart. Walmart and other retailers’ online platforms are growing faster than Amazon’s despite any action by the FTC. Undoubtedly, Amazon has a successful business model, but like Walmart before it, Amazon is neither an invincible monopoly nor is it illegal to temporarily be the most successful firm.”

### 

Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.