Did Amazon lie to Congress? Top antitrust lawmakers want to know.
Two US members of Congress overseeing an antitrust investigation into Amazon want to know if a top official for the company lied while giving congressional testimony about whether or not the e-commerce giant unfairly competes against smaller, independent sellers on its marketplace.
The representatives are reacting to a report from the Wall Street Journal that revealed Amazon employees have at times accessed data from individual marketplace sellers to help decide which products Amazon would create and sell under its own brand names, known as private-label brands. The report appears to contradict statements made under oath by a top Amazon lawyer, Nate Sutton, who stated at a congressional hearing led by one of the lawmakers that Amazon does not use data from individual sellers — and only uses data aggregated from multiple sellers — to create its own products.
In a statement sent to Recode on Thursday, Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), who leads the House antitrust subcommittee that is investigating Amazon and other tech giants, said, “At best, Amazon’s witness appears to have misrepresented key aspects of Amazon’s business practices while omitting important details in response to pointed questioning. At worst, the witness Amazon sent to speak on its behalf may have lied to Congress.”
House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY) added, “We plan to seek clarification from Amazon in short order, in light of this troubling report.”
Read more: https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/4/23/21233335/amazon-seller-data-private-label-congress-antitrust-perjury-david-cicilline
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