GOP Senator Calls on Amazon to Testify Over Wall Street Journal Report It Boosted Own Products
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) on Tuesday called on Amazon to testify over a Wall Street Journal report that the company denied.
The article, which the Wall Street Journal published on Monday, accused Amazon of changing its search algorithms to boost and prioritize the promotion of its own products, citing anonymous sources who allegedly worked on the changes.
“Any tweak to Amazon’s search system has broad implications because the giant’s rankings can make or break a product,” the Journal explained. “The site’s search bar is the most common way for U.S. shoppers to find items online, and most purchases stem from the first page of search results.”
“The issue is particularly sensitive because the U.S. and the European Union are examining Amazon’s dual role—as marketplace operator and seller of its own branded products. An algorithm skewed toward profitability could steer customers toward thousands of Amazon’s in-house products that deliver higher profit margins than competing listings on the site,” the newspaper reported, noting that such algorithm changes could “create trouble with antitrust regulators.”
The exchange between Hawley and Amazon took place after the senator posted the Journal story to his Twitter account on Monday, and commented, “This deserves scrutiny. Is Amazon using monopoly power to kill small business & other competitors? Are consumers suffering as a result? Millions of American families depend in some way on Amazon.”
This deserves scrutiny. Is Amazon using monopoly power to kill small business & other competitors? Are consumers suffering as a result? Millions of American families depend in some way on Amazon https://t.co/HMe364iVnZ
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 16, 2019
Amazon denied the claims, and replied to Hawley, “Not true. @WSJ story based on anonymous sources is wrong. We have not changed the criteria we use to rank search results to include profitability. We feature products customers want, regardless of whether they are our own brands or products offered by our selling partners.”
Not true. @WSJ story based on anonymous sources is wrong. We have not changed the criteria we use to rank search results to include profitability. We feature products customers want, regardless of whether they are our own brands or products offered by our selling partners.
— Amazon News (@amazonnews) September 17, 2019
“Will you testify to that under oath? And will you open your books to investigators to prove it?” Hawley shot back, however the company did not respond.
Will you testify to that under oath? And will you open your books to investigators to prove it? https://t.co/C1RUCh36jM
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 17, 2019
On Friday, members of the House Judiciary Committee demanded documents from Amazon, Google, Apple, and Facebook in an effort to determine if the companies had shut down competition.
[Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images]
