A new report from ILSR finds that Amazon has exploited its power as a monopoly gatekeeper to impose increasingly steep fees on the independent businesses that sell on its site. Amazon now pockets a 34 percent cut of the revenue earned by independent sellers on its site, up from 19 percent in 2014. Amazon’s steep and growing fees make it nearly impossible for independent sellers to sustain viable businesses. Most fail. … Read More
“By establishing clear rules to stop dominant corporations from abusing their power, this legislation will safeguard democracy and create new vitality in struggling rural and urban areas alike,” said ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell.… Read More
Statement from Stacy Mitchell, Co-Director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, on the introduction of the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act of 2021, legislation that would set a high bar for acquisitions and mergers by Big Tech firms.… Read More
The following statement was issued by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, in response to legislation released today in the United States Senate aimed at addressing the concentrated corporate power of the Big Tech companies. … Read More
Today’s New York Times features a front-page story on the worsening plight of dollar stores, and on the often negative impacts the major dollar store chains have on workers and local economies (“‘Everything Going the Wrong Way’: Dollar Stores Hit a Pandemic Downturn”). … Read More
After President Biden nominated Alvaro Bedoya to the Federal Trade Commission, ILSR issued a statement applauding the nomination and urging Bedoya’s speedy Senate confirmation.… Read More
This statement was issued by ILSR Co-Director Stacy Mitchell in response to new amendments to an antitrust complaint filed against Amazon by D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine.… Read More
Leadership and staff at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance announced today that they have signed an agreement recognizing the formation of a staff union.… Read More
Biden’s executive order marks a major turning point in the fight to check monopoly power. It includes more than 70 specific provisions, many of which reflect ILSR’s long-standing work and priorities. … Read More
