Is The Amazon CEO Really the Real Thing? – Reply to the F.T.C. Indictment of Ms. Bezos

Mr. Bezos, 59, is no longer in charge of Amazon on a day-to-day basis. He surrendered the chief executive reins to Andy Jassy two years ago. Mr. Bezos is the executive chairman of Amazon and owns a lot of the company. Ms. Khan is challenged by his innovations for over two decades. The F.T.C. complaint quotes him repeatedly.

If Ms. Khan’s arguments hold sway, the competitive landscape for tech companies will look very different going forward. Large antitrust cases have an effect. 25 years ago, the government had a difficult time in its pursuit of Microsoft. That still had enough force to distract and weaken the software empire, allowing 1,000 start-ups to bloom, including Amazon.

Silicon Valley spent the summer transfixed by the prospect of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg literally fighting each other, despite the odds of this actually happening being near zero. Ms. Khan and Mr. Bezos are, however, the real thing — a courtroom clash that could have implications far beyond Amazon’s 1.5 million employees, 300 million customers and $1.3 trillion valuation.

Lina Khan rose to prominence in law school after she wrote a scholarly article in 2017 arguing for the breakup of Amazon – she compared the tech giant to the oil barons and railroad monopolies of more than a century ago. The Federal Trade Commission is the government’s watchdog for corporations.

Khan said the suit didn’t mirror her famous article but wasn’t explicitly asking for the break up of Amazon. She said that it’s about getting more competition so that rivals and consumers are operating in a fair marketplace.

“This complaints is focused on establishing liability,” Khan said. “Ultimately, any relief needs to stop the illegal tactics, prevent a reoccurrence and fully restore competition.”

For now, the FTC and states are asking the court for a permanent injunction, although that could change over time and break up Amazon is still a possibility. The case was filed in federal court in Seattle, where Amazon is based, and is expected to play out over the next several years.

“If you put a lower price elsewhere, you can pretty much disappear from Amazon’s storefront,” Khan said. “Given the significant shopper traffic on Amazon, if Amazon makes you disappear from the storefront, that can be quite fatal for your business.”

According to Amazon’s numbers, around 60% of items purchased on Amazon are sold by third-party sellers. Many sellers say Amazon is so dominant in online retail that it’s hard to sell anywhere else — so they stay there despite high fees.