ABA Webinar Exploring FTC’s Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon Summarized by Managers Jane Choi and Hailey Nguyen
March 7, 2024
Analysis Group Managers Jane Choi and Hailey Nguyen have published a recap of the American Bar Association (ABA) webinar “Breaking News: Amazon and FTC” on the ABA’s Antitrust Law Section website. The two economists summarize a discussion among panelists that included Mr. Mark Meador (Kressin Meador), Ms. Julia Schiller (O’Melveny), Mr. Lee Berger (Steptoe), and Dr. Matthew Backus (Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley). The webinar was moderated by Mr. Michael Murray (Paul Hastings) and hosted by the ABA’s Unilateral Conduct Committee.
Drs. Choi and Nguyen recap the panelists’ discussion of the antitrust lawsuit that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 17 state attorneys general filed against Amazon in September 2023. Mr. Murray opened the discussion with a brief overview of the allegations before turning to Mr. Meador, who described the FTC’s two proposed markets at issue: the market for online superstores that serve shoppers and the market for online marketplace services that serve sellers. The panelists then examined the conduct at issue. Dr. Backus described the economic framework for assessing the competitive effects of the alleged anti-discounting policies for sellers. The panelists also discussed the allegations related to the requirements for obtaining “Prime” eligibility for a product and to algorithmic pricing. Next, the conversation turned to how this case fits into the bigger picture of antitrust enforcement and legislation for large technology companies. The panelists discussed the two types of alleged harm – harm to consumers and harm to competition between online platforms – and potential challenges to these claims. The discussion ended with the panelists’ final thoughts and predictions for the case, with Mr. Murray highlighting the complexities and uncertainties surrounding the case and acknowledging that much will depend on the facts as they emerge during the litigation process.