Amazon signaled to House lawmakers it would not commit to having its chief executive testify before Congress about its treatment of third-party sellers.
The House Judiciary Committee requested to hear from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos after the Wall Street Journal reported the company used data from its third-party sellers to launch competing products against them in an apparent violation of Amazon’s policies and claims to Congress.
“No one is above the law, no matter how rich or powerful,” Rep. David Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat who heads the panel’s antitrust subcommittee, tweeted on May 15. “We have asked Mr. Bezos to testify before the US Congress about Amazon’s troubling business practices and false statements, and we expect him to do so. Whether he does so voluntarily or by subpoena is his choice.”
Amazon sent a letter Friday that said the retail giant will “make the appropriate executive available” to testify, making no mention of Bezos.
Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, continuing to see sales throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Warehouse workers and employees have raised concerns about the company’s new policies aimed at increasing public safety throughout the pandemic, holding protests in response.
It has been widely reported that Amazon fired at least three employees who have been openly critical about the company’s workplace conditions. Amazon told CNBC that two employees “repeatedly violating internal policies” while another was let go because of a “progressive disciplinary action for inappropriate language, behavior and violating social distancing guidelines.”
“We respect the rights of employees to protest and recognize their legal right to do so, but these rights do not provide blanket immunity against bad actions, particularly those that endanger the health, well-being or safety of their colleagues,” an Amazon representative told the Washington Examiner.
The company has been at the center of a congressional investigation into alleged anti-competitive conduct within the technology sector. Other companies under scrutiny include Facebook, Google, and Apple.
