Exclusive-Amazon.com previews FTC defense at companywide meeting -transcript
By Greg Bensinger
(Reuters) — Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s top lawyer on Tuesday previewed the broad outlines of the company's possible defense against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's antitrust lawsuit against the retailer, at a private companywide meeting.
During the two-hour meeting, covering a range of topics, attorney David Zapolsky expressed confidence in Amazon's ability to fend off the blockbuster lawsuit, calling the company's tactics «absolutely defensible behavior,» according to a transcript of the meeting seen by Reuters.
Along the way, he quoted Taylor Swift lyrics as he sought to assuage employees' concerns.
«The meme of the day, as a very scrutinized company, is to adopt the tao of Taylor Swift: 'haters gonna hate' and you have to 'shake it off,» Zapolsky said, according to the transcript. He was joined by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and other executives.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed the long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against Amazon on Sept. 26 and asked the court to consider forcing the online retailer to sell assets as the government accuses Big Tech of monopolizing the most lucrative parts of the internet.
It accused Amazon of operating an illegal monopoly, in part by fighting efforts by sellers on its online marketplace to offer products more cheaply on other platforms. The lawsuit, which was joined by 17 state attorneys general, was filed in federal court in Seattle and follows a four-year investigation into the company's practices.
The agency asked the court to issue a permanent injunction ordering Amazon to stop what it called unlawful conduct. In antitrust cases the range of solutions may include forcing a company to sell an asset, such as a part of its business.
The FTC takes «issue with
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