Bezos open to testifying before Congress on anti-competitive behaviour
Amazon has told US politicians it will make chief executive Jeff Bezos available to testify before Congress as part of a widespread antitrust investigation into Big Tech.
The e-commerce giant had previously resisted calls for Bezos to appear before lawmakers, prompting threats from members of the House Judiciary Committee to force him to testify.
A lawyer for Amazon said in a letter to politicians that the firm was “committed to cooperating with your inquiry and will make the appropriate executive available to testify”, the New York Times first reported.
He added: “This includes making Jeff Bezos available to testify at a hearing with the other CEOs this summer.”
Bezos’ availability will be dependent on first resolving a number of issues, including timing, format and questions about the committee’s request for internal documents, the letter said.
Amazon declined to comment further, but confirmed that Bezos would be made available as stated in the letter.
The House Judiciary Committee in May said it suspected Amazon of lying to Congress, following a Wall Street Journal report that suggested previous statements made by Amazon on its treatment of third-party sellers were inaccurate.
The European Commission is currently preparing a case against Amazon on the same matter. Officials allege that Amazon uses data gained from third-party sellers on its platform to inform its product strategy and thereby undercut the competition.
Reports last week suggested the EU could file formal charges on the matter against Amazon as soon as this week.