FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 26, 2023 

CONTACT: Ashley Woolheater, woolheater@openmarketsinstitute.org 

Open Markets has been calling for action against Amazon since 2010. FTC Chair Lina Khan began her work examining Amazon’s monopoly power while on staff at Open Markets

WASHINGTON – Open Markets Institute Executive Director Barry Lynn released the following statement in reaction to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announcing today its long-awaited suit against Amazon’s monopoly power and abuse. Lynn and many members of the Open Markets team have spent years examining the ways in which Amazon broke fair competition laws in order to amass enormous influence and control over a range of markets – and urging policymakers to stop it.

Statement from Barry Lynn, Open Markets Executive Director:
“Freedom of commerce is a fundamental liberty of American democracy. It means you get to do business with who you want, on terms you freely negotiate, without manipulation by either government or any powerful private gatekeeper. 

“Today the FTC took a first step to restoring the liberty of every individual and business who relies on essential internet platforms to exchange goods, services, and ideas with one another. The FTC did so by targeting some of the most egregious abuses by Amazon of the dominant position it has acquired over vast swaths of online commerce, and the corporation’s routinized manipulation of other people’s business for its own private purposes. 

“We strongly applaud Chair Khan and commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya on their action today. In addition to restoring fundamental liberties, this lawsuit will also help to deliver lower prices, better service, and more real choice across the digital economy for every American.” 

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