The FTC is not incredibly popular in the tech world today, taking aim at several high-dollar deals and executing vigorous antitrust efforts that could make it harder for the richest companies in tech to snap up smaller rivals.
The FTC has continued its hearts-and-minds campaign by filing suit against Amazon this week, alleging a “pattern of illegal conduct” that “blocks competition” and allows the company to “wield monopoly power to inflate prices, degrade quality, and stifle innovation for consumers and businesses.” Amazon, in response, said that if the FTC “gets its way, the result would be fewer products to choose from, higher prices, slower deliveries for consumers and reduced options for small businesses — the opposite of what antitrust law is designed to do.”
The suit will likely take time to run its course, but it does set up an interesting intellectual prompt for both startup founders and venture capitalists: Are they in favor of regulators working to contain market power by the largest tech companies, which may potentially come at the expense of the ability of startups to compete? Or are they more concerned about a potential ceiling being set on exit values for the companies that they back?
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