Amazon is publicly complaining that a new antitrust bill unfairly targets the company, saying it “jeopardizes two of the things American consumers love most about Amazon: the vast selection and low prices made possible by opening our store to third-party selling partners, and the promise of fast, free shipping through Amazon Prime.”
The proposed law, named the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, would prevent tech giants from giving preference to their own businesses on their own platforms. Amazon claims it is targeting these provisions to Amazon more than to than its competition.
The Senate appears poised to vote on the bill this month. It had already been passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in January despite lobbying by the tech sector. It passed the House Judiciary committee in 2021.
Amazon maintains the bill is targeting it by mandating that a company have a market value of at least $550 billion in order to be regulated. Amazon maintains this would exclude Walmart, Target, and CVS.
Amazon stated, “In 2021, Walmart had annual revenues of $559 billion, nearly $90 billion more than Amazon. But Walmart is excluded despite also being a large retailer that allows small businesses to sell in its online marketplace.”