‘CAUGHT IN A LIE’

House Panel Accuses Amazon of ‘Potentially Criminal Conduct’

In a letter to the Justice Department, the House Judiciary Committee alleged the tech giant is potentially trying to “influence, obstruct, or impede” the panel’s probe.

In a 24-page letter addressed to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Amazon has been accused by a bipartisan group on the House Judiciary Committee of “potentially criminal conduct” during sworn testimony in 2019 about its data collection practices. During the investigation, lawmakers say they were able to confirm that Amazon’s denials that it used data from third-party sellers to boost its own label were false, as it continued to “cover up its lie by offering ever-shifting explanations.” The letter further states that after being “caught in a lie” the company’s leaders “stonewalled the Committee’s efforts to uncover the truth” and potentially tried to “influence, obstruct, or impede” the probe. The new letter could reopen and heighten the federal scrutiny on the company that took place during a 16-month investigation in digital market competition. That investigation ended in 2020.