Amazon

The US Federal Trade Commission says Amazon uses its dominance in online shopping to hurt sellers and shoppers—for example, by punishing merchants who offer lower prices on other websites and by favoring Amazon's own products in search. Amazon calls the lawsuit wrong on the facts and the law. The case is still in early litigation, so treat claims as allegations.

Outcome: Judge Chun denied Amazon's motion to dismiss in April 2025. A December 2025 schedule set expert discovery in 2026 and a bench trial for 29 March 2027. A related District of Columbia case is on its own pretrial track. No judgment on the monopoly claims.

Europe investigated whether Amazon unfairly used data from third-party sellers to launch competing products and whether its 'Buy Box' favored Amazon's own offers. Instead of a final guilty verdict, Amazon agreed to binding promises: stop misusing seller data and apply Buy Box rules more fairly, with an independent monitor checking compliance.

Outcome: Amazon offered binding commitments accepted by the Commission in 2022, avoiding a formal infringement decision while imposing data-use and equal-treatment obligations.

Europe already pushed Amazon to change how its Buy Box picks default sellers on its marketplace. Now regulators are investigating again, asking whether Amazon still favors its own products and fulfillment service (FBA). Sellers say ranking and shipping rules remain unfair. Amazon disputes that. The probe is active—no new fine yet.

Outcome: Formal investigation ongoing; no new infringement decision or fine issued as of public reporting.

Europe's Digital Markets Act treats the biggest tech platforms like regulated utilities: they must open doors they used to lock. Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and others must offer more choice in app stores, messaging, search defaults, and data sharing. Regulators are still checking whether the changes work—or whether companies comply only on the surface.

Outcome: Designations and core obligations are in force; compliance dialogues, DMA Article 29 market investigations, and potential fines remain active. No final closure of oversight.

Most companies rent computing power from a few giant clouds—Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. The FTC is asking whether those providers make it artificially hard to leave or to run popular software on a competitor's servers. The review is ongoing; no final US case has concluded.

Outcome: Information gathering and staff analysis continue; no public enforcement decision or court ruling has concluded the inquiry.

Small businesses often depend on Amazon, eBay, or Walmart.com for discovery and shipping. The FTC is studying whether those platforms suspend sellers unfairly, copy their products, or force them to buy ads to stay visible. Related Amazon litigation is active; nothing is finally decided for all marketplaces.

Outcome: Investigations overlap with the separate Amazon monopolization case but focus on seller-facing practices; no standalone final order yet.

Big Tech funded AI startups through partnerships instead of classic mergers. The FTC wants to know whether those deals secretly block competition for chips, data, and engineers. This is an inquiry—a fact-finding step—not a ruling that AI partnerships are illegal.

Outcome: Mandatory orders to major players are pending analysis; no enforcement action or court judgment has concluded the inquiry.

Spotify says Apple Music competes on iPhones while Apple’s App Store rules tax and silence rival streamers. The EU opened a sector-wide review of music streaming fairness, overlapping with DMA duties and an earlier Apple Music antitrust case. Outcomes are not final.

Outcome: Investigation under Article 102 and DMA overlaps continue; Apple Music streaming case precedent exists separately; no final streaming-specific decision closed the sector review.

Most of Europe’s apps and company systems run on a few US clouds. In November 2025 EU regulators opened Digital Markets Act investigations into Amazon’s AWS and Microsoft’s Azure—asking whether lock-in fees, licences, and technical walls make switching or using rival software too hard. No fine yet.

Outcome: Investigations opened November 2025. No infringement decision or fine yet. Parallel work continues under the Data Act and classic Article 102 theories.

Washington, D.C. is suing Amazon over marketplace pricing and the Buy Box, separate from the FTC case. Both were still pretrial in 2026, with trials discussed for 2027.

Outcome: The case remained in pretrial in 2026. Parties in the related FTC action told the Seattle court that D.C.'s trial calendar, discussed around May 2027, had to be coordinated with the FTC bench trial set for 29 March 2027. No judgment.

Britain investigated the big cloud providers and moved the issue into its new conduct-rules system. That follow-on work was still open in 2026, beside a separate EU look at AWS and Azure.

Outcome: The market investigation's findings fed SMS work rather than a one-time fine. EU DMA cloud investigations of AWS and Azure are a parallel file. Neither had produced a final conduct code that ended the issue by October 2026.

Amazon's European marketplace is under the Digital Markets Act. Brussels is still checking how seller data and the Buy Box work. That is separate from the American FTC trial.

Outcome: Designation and the 2024 compliance deadline are behind it. Supervision and possible non-compliance work continued through 2026. The 2022 Buy Box commitment case is a different file.