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cali

(114,904 posts)
Wed Jun 15, 2016, 07:44 AM Jun 2016

Techdirt analyses Trump's threat to take down Amazon.

Jaysus.


<snip>

They have no journalistic integrity and write falsely about Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump does not mind a bad story, but it has to be honest. The fact is, The Washington Post is being used by the owners of Amazon as their political lobbyist so that they don't have to pay taxes and don't get sued for monopolistic tendencies that have led to the destruction of department stores and the retail industry.
There are all sorts of issues with that statement, beyond the simple fact that there appears to be basically zero evidence to support it. Yes, Jeff Bezos runs Amazon and also owns the Washington Post. But I've seen basically no evidence that the Washington Post has done any stories that are somehow lobbying for Amazon's interests (for what it's worth, Amazon tends to stay far, far away from all sorts of policy fights). Perhaps I've missed it, but I don't recall any WaPo editorials advocating for letting Amazon avoid taxes.

But it's really the end of that last paragraph that's the most concerning. Claiming that Amazon has "monopolistic tendencies" and the ridiculous claim that it's "led to the destruction of department stores and the retail industry," is somewhat concerning. This is not the first time Trump has attacked Bezos. In fact, his original infamous statements about how he was going to "open up libel laws" were actually directed at Bezos. He first went on a tirade about Bezos owning the Washington Post, followed by:
If I become President, oh, are they going to have problems. They're going to have such problems.

Lots of people pointed out that Trump perhaps couldn't do too much to libel laws (the Supreme Court and the First Amendment has that covered), but he absolutely could have the DOJ or even the FTC go after Amazon for claimed anti-trust or anti-consumer behavior. And it seems pretty clear that he would gleefully do so. And not because of any actual evidence of problems, but because he doesn't like the coverage in the Washington Post which just happens to be owned by Bezos. Settling personal scores with the press by attacking a service that many in the public find extremely useful and convenient doesn't seem particularly presidential, does it?

read:https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160614/00345834699/trump-implicitly-suggests-that-his-doj-would-take-down-amazon-antitrust-says-destroyed-retail.shtml

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Techdirt analyses Trump's threat to take down Amazon. (Original Post) cali Jun 2016 OP
His DOJ is gonna be busy, especially if he gives his mcdonalds manservant the AG gig. Warren DeMontague Jun 2016 #1
He is such a sociopath florida08 Jun 2016 #2

Warren DeMontague

(80,708 posts)
1. His DOJ is gonna be busy, especially if he gives his mcdonalds manservant the AG gig.
Wed Jun 15, 2016, 07:48 AM
Jun 2016

Shitting down legal weed in 4 states (probably more by next year) AND the most popular online retailer in the country. Well, it sure is ambitious!

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