In response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) announcement that it would examine past acquisitions by large technology companies, ILSR Co-Director Stacy Mitchell released the following statement:
“Many of the innovations we attribute to Amazon are in fact technologies acquired through acquisitions, not internal research and development. These deals have allowed Amazon to buy key innovations, including the core functionality behind Alexa, microchip technology that has powered the growth of AWS, and robotics technology that has fueled its automated warehouses.
“Over the past decade, Amazon has been allowed to buy its way into entire new industries, eliminating potential competitors in the process. By not scrutinizing this slew of acquisitions, the FTC has allowed a few tech giants to dominate the flow of both information and goods.
“For years, in congressional testimony, comment letters to the agency, reports, and op-eds, ILSR has pointed to lax merger enforcement at the FTC as a primary driver of Amazon’s market power.
“While we’re glad the FTC is finally acknowledging that there’s a problem, we need more than a study. We also need a significant course correction.”
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