Amazon said on Wednesday that there is "no factual basis" for accusations of criminal conduct concerning a federal investigation into the company's competition practices.
File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
March 9 (UPI) -- House lawmakers asked the Justice Department on Wednesday to investigate online retail giant Amazon, saying that they believe some laws were broken when the company was testifying in Congress about its competition practices.
In a letter to the department, the House judiciary committee said that it's possible Amazon broke the law and "certain" that Amazon executives did a couple years ago when the panel's antitrust subcommittee was investigating tech companies' market dominance.
The panel sent the 24-page letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, which asks the department to investigate Amazon for obstructing Congress or violating other federal laws.
"Amazon engaged in a pattern and practice of misleading conduct that appeared designed to influence, obstruct, or impede the committee's 16-month investigation into competition in digital markets," the committee said in a statement Wednesday.
Lawmakers on the panel also said that Amazon executives lied under oath.
"Amazon lied through a senior executive's sworn testimony that Amazon did not use any of the troves of data it had collected on its third-party sellers to compete with them," the letter states. "But credible investigative reporting showed otherwise."
The 2019-20 investigation looked into claims that Amazon used its digital platform to favor its own products above those from other vendors.
"After Amazon was caught in a lie and repeated misrepresentations, it stonewalled the committee's efforts to uncover the truth," the letter says.
Amazon has long denied the accusations.
"There's no factual basis for this, as demonstrated in the huge volume of information we've provided over several years of good faith cooperation with this investigation," an Amazon spokesperson said, according to The Hill.
March 9 (UPI) -- House lawmakers asked the Justice Department on Wednesday to investigate online retail giant Amazon, saying that they believe some laws were broken when the company was testifying in Congress about its competition practices.
In a letter to the department, the House judiciary committee said that it's possible Amazon broke the law and "certain" that Amazon executives did a couple years ago when the panel's antitrust subcommittee was investigating tech companies' market dominance.
The panel sent the 24-page letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, which asks the department to investigate Amazon for obstructing Congress or violating other federal laws.
"Amazon engaged in a pattern and practice of misleading conduct that appeared designed to influence, obstruct, or impede the committee's 16-month investigation into competition in digital markets," the committee said in a statement Wednesday.
Lawmakers on the panel also said that Amazon executives lied under oath.
"Amazon lied through a senior executive's sworn testimony that Amazon did not use any of the troves of data it had collected on its third-party sellers to compete with them," the letter states. "But credible investigative reporting showed otherwise."
The 2019-20 investigation looked into claims that Amazon used its digital platform to favor its own products above those from other vendors.
"After Amazon was caught in a lie and repeated misrepresentations, it stonewalled the committee's efforts to uncover the truth," the letter says.
Amazon has long denied the accusations.
"There's no factual basis for this, as demonstrated in the huge volume of information we've provided over several years of good faith cooperation with this investigation," an Amazon spokesperson said, according to The Hill.
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