House panel calls Bezos to testify over Amazon allegedly misleading Congress:
Jeff Bezos is being called to appear before the House Judiciary Committee about his company potentially having made misleading statements about its business practices. At issue is a report from April 23 that detailed how Amazon would use data from third-party sellers to develop and sell its own products.
The committee's request, sent out in a letter on Friday, builds on its current investigation into Amazon's "role in the digital marketplace." While it expects Bezos to agree to appear on his own, the group reserves "the right to resort to compulsory process if necessary."
[...] Amazon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the House committee's Friday letter to Bezos.
Previously:
Amazon Reportedly Used Merchant Data, Despite Telling Congress It Doesn't
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Amazon reportedly used merchant data, despite telling Congress it doesn't:
Amazon accounts for about a third of all US Internet retail sales, but it didn't get there entirely on its own. It did so, in part, with the assistance of hundreds of thousands of smaller vendors who signed up to sell their goods on Amazon's third-party merchant marketplace, which accounts for more than half the company's retail sales. In theory, those agreements were beneficial for all involved: shoppers could easily one-stop-shop for products, merchants could rely on Amazon's front and back-end infrastructure instead of building out their own, and Amazon could get a nice consistent cut flowing in.
The calculus of who benefits most from these arrangements, however, has changed over time. Amazon now offers a wide array of its own in-house brands, making it a direct competitor to many of the merchants who rely on its platform to reach consumers. That would be challenge enough, but the behemoth also captures sales data from those third-party vendors, then uses it to launch its own product lines and undercut the smaller firms, The Wall Street Journal reports.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday May 02 2020, @05:04PM
Bezos will tell the truth, right?
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 5, Insightful) by jelizondo on Saturday May 02 2020, @05:18PM (4 children)
Yeah, right. Bezos [forbes.com] increased his personal fortune by $25 billion from the start of the pandemic.
Would he lie to Congress? I'm sure he would lie to God, he is sure he could get away with it.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 02 2020, @06:23PM (1 child)
I guarantee you Bezos was not sailing in a luxury yacht for the past few months. He's been busy delivering pep talks to employees to ensure that Americans get the goods they require while locked down at home. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he put in a few shifts in the warehouse to get packages out.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 02 2020, @06:31PM
He probably bought a round of ale for the boys and posted shit about Amazon on the listserv. A regular guy.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 02 2020, @08:42PM (1 child)
It's ok, the Saudis are on the case.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 02 2020, @10:05PM
> ...the Saudis are on the case.
The bone saw crew? Inquiring minds want to know.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 02 2020, @05:27PM (2 children)
are like the generic white label crap you find in the bargain bin at Dollar Tree.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Booga1 on Saturday May 02 2020, @06:51PM
Fair enough, but some of the name brand products are just the bargain bin stuff with a logo on it.
There are plenty of anecdotes from factory workers where the difference between one brand and a store brand is the box they drop the product into or the label that gets wrapped around the jar/can.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Saturday May 02 2020, @11:13PM
With everyone who ever bought one of them detailing how it worked/broke for them, though.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 03 2020, @02:50AM
It's not good for him that the Dems want him to appear. It is understandable because it makes a great TV clip of them dressing him down. But what sucks for Bezos is he'll have all the Reps foaming at the mouth to get in some great soundbites so they can suck up to Trump. Don't expect anything substantive to come out of that. They'll all be looking for soundbites, and half of them will be jockeying with each other to see who can press his lips to Trump's ass the best.