Amazon's Bezos "May Have Lied to Congress"
2 Min Read
A member of the House Judiciary Committee said executives at Amazon, including its founder Jeff Bezos, may have misled or lied to Congress about their company's business practices.
-
Amazon's Jeff Bezos testified before the House Judiciary Committee in 2020
Members of the House Judiciary Committee said they are considering referring Amazon "for criminal investigation", in light of the committee believing that Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, along with some senior executives, may have misled or lied to Congress about their business practices.
Amazon testified before the committee last year. However, an investigation by Reuters claimed that the firm copied products from sellers, and rigged its search results in India to boost sales of its own brands.
Amazon denied the allegations, saying they did not mislead the committee, according to its spokesperson.
Five of the committee's members wrote to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who succeeded Bezos in July, stating that "credible reporting" by Reuters and recent articles in other news outlets "directly contradicts the sworn testimony and representations of Amazon's top executives - including former CEO Jeffrey Bezos."
The reports, according to the letter, state that Amazon's executives either misled the committee -at best- or lied to Congress, in violation of federal criminal law.
The House Judiciary Committee has been investigating competition and monopolistic practices in digital markets since 2019, including how Amazon treats third-party seller data on its platform, and whether it unfairly favors its own products.
