Our Reaction: American Booksellers Urge the FTC to Go After Amazon's Monopolistic Behavior in the Books Market

WASHINGTON— Today Open Markets Executive Director Barry Lynn released the following statement in response to an American Booksellers Association (ABA) motion for the Federal Trade Commission to include Amazon’s monopolistic actions to control books market in its wider antitrust case against Amazon.

“The American Booksellers Association is fighting back against Amazon's years of stifling competition in the books market that has directly affected not only their members, but also Americans across the board in what we read and debate.

“By forcing publishers to give it steep discounts, Amazon has stifled competition in books and pushed book publishers and sellers to the brink. We support the ABA's efforts to hold Amazon accountable and urge the FTC to take full account of Amazon's monopolistic control over books, authors, editors, publishers, and the public, which poses a variety of threats to our democracy.”

Open Markets has long worked with American Booksellers and others to educate policymakers and the public about how Amazon’s unfair practices are stifling the books market and controlling what people read, share and debate. In August, we wrote to federal regulators in the U.S. urging them to investigate Amazon’s antitrust violations in books as part of their wider investigation and suit.

###