On questioning by Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO), who is also the vice-chair of the subcommittee on antritrust, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos conceded that Amazon accounts for 40% of “online retail sales in the e-commerce market stream”. In his prepared testimony, Bezos had said, “Amazon accounts for less than 1% of the $25 trillion global retail market and less than 4% of retail in the US”, characterising retail as everything — including restaurants, bars, gas stations, Neguse pointed out. At the Big Tech CEOs' hearing before the House subcommittee on antitrust on July 29 (available to watch here), multiple revelations were put on the record about Amazon and its anti-competitive practices. As both the marketplace and a seller, Amazon is in fundamental conflict of interest: “Isn’t it an inherent conflict of interest for Amazon to produce and sell products on its platform that compete directly with third party sellers, particularly when you, Amazon, sets the rules of the game?” Cicilline asked Bezos. Amazon, as a data company, has a huge advantage over third party sellers, Cicilline said. This is precisely the argument that AIOVA and CAIT have been making against Flipkart and Amazon in India. The European Union was to file formal antitrust charges against Amazon in June due to its treatment of third-party sellers due to its dual role as a marketplace operator and a seller of its own products. Amazon is a gatekeeper to content and producer of content: Representative Jamin Raskin (D-MD), citing the WarnerMedia-Amazon Prime…
