FTC prepares “the big one,” a major lawsuit targeting Amazon’s core business

Enlarge / FTC Chair Lina Khan testifies during a House subcommittee hearing on the agency's fiscal 2024 budget on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (credit: Getty Images | Tom Williams )

The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to file a major antitrust lawsuit accusing Amazon of "leverag[ing] its power to reward online merchants that use its logistics services and punish those who don't," Bloomberg reported today. Bloomberg described the forthcoming lawsuit as "the big one," following several earlier lawsuits filed by the FTC under Chair Lina Khan.

"In the coming weeks, the agency plans to file a far-reaching antitrust suit focused on Amazon's core online marketplace, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg and three people familiar with the case," the report said.

Khan may try to force Amazon to "restructure" its business. "Based on her public comments, Khan is unlikely to accept compromises from Amazon and could seek to restructure the company—a dramatic outcome that Amazon would surely appeal," Bloomberg wrote.