Amazon could end up being scrutinised by an antitrust investigation being spearheaded by both the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It is the same antitrust investigation that will also be looking into Google’s activities in the country.
The news was first broken by The Washington Post and from the looks of it, both the FTC and DOJ look to be preparing a separate case against the multinational company. However, just as it is with Google, there is no indication as to what exactly the government bodies will be investigating the company for.
The move comes as the current Trump administration calls for major tech companies within the country to be scrutinised more closely. These companies include Google, Facebook, Apple, and of course, Amazon. One important – if not obvious – reason behind the upcoming investigation can be pointed to the vast influence that these companies currently hold over the global population, let alone the US population.
Another area of interest that could be a key subject in the investigation would be the way they conduct business. In the case of Amazon, the brand has been criticised for poor working conditions at its warehouses. Plus, it has been paying zero taxes to the US government in 2017 and 2018, thanks to a loophole in US law.
The US isn’t the only country that has been coming down hard on these tech companies either. Back in March this year, the EU fined Google a whopping €1.49 billion (~RM6.97 billion) for breaking EU antitrust laws.
(Source: The Washington Post via The Verge)
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