Amazon one-ups No. 1 antitrust critic Lina Khan

[ad_1]

FTC Commissioner nominee Lina M. Khan testifies during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing on the nomination of Former Senator Bill Nelson to be NASA administrator, on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, April 21, 2021. Graeme Jennings/Pool via REUTERS

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) – If there is any company that is enemy number one of the US Federal Trade Commission, it’s Amazon.com. The agency’s Chair Lina Khan rose to prominence urging lawmakers to rethink antitrust laws using Jeff Bezos’ $1.5 trillion firm as an example. She may struggle to show that her cock is as big as her bark.

Amazon said it filed read more all the necessary merger review documents required by the FTC, Reuters reported on Thursday, a meaningful step because it now puts pressure on the agency to meet a mid-March deadline to try to stop its $8.5 billion MGM deal from happening, the report said. That potentially sets off a scramble at the agency. If time runs out, Amazon can close its deal for the movie studio behind the James Bond franchise. The FTC can still sue but it could be mired for years in a legal morass fighting the deep-pocketed giant.

Khan shot to fame in the Beltway because of a 90-plus page article published in the Yale Law Review titled “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox.” She argues that the current legal framework that uses price as the proxy for monopolistic behavior is outdated when applied to the e-commerce firm. US President Joe Biden has made rethinking long held beliefs on antitrust a priority in his administration too. When he appointed Khan as the head of the agency, Amazon and Facebook parent Meta Platforms (FB.O) squawked that she should recuse herself from any probes, claiming her past showed she was biased against their firms.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Blocking the deal read more could test new theories about competition. That’s a huge undertaking, and it is possible the FTC is just using its firepower to prepare a stronger lawsuit. But a bigger statement would be to hold its ground ahead of time, try to block the deal, which would then force Amazon to make a defensive case in court. In the latest move, it looks like Amazon has one-upped its major critic.

Follow @jennifersaba on Twitter

CONTEXT NEWS

– The US Federal Trade Commission is approaching a deadline in mid-March to challenge Amazon.com’s $8.5 billion acquisition of movie studio MGM, Reuters reported on March 3, according to a source familiar with the matter.

– Amazon said it has filed the documents required by the FTC, triggering the clock for the review process, according to the Wall Street Journal on March 3.

– Amazon agreed to buy MGM, home to the James Bond franchise, on May 26.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Editing by Lauren Silva Laughlin and Pranav Kiran

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

[ad_2]