Lawmakers accuse Amazon of lying to Congress about the tactics used against rival sellers

On Thursday, Politico reported that Democratic lawmakers are accusing Amazon of lying to Congress about how they use data against rival sellers on their platform.

"Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other prominent big tech critics seized on a Wall Street Journal report that said Amazon employees have used information collected from third-party sellers to launch competing products — even though the company testified to the House Judiciary Committee in July that it does not," reported Cristiano Lima.

"This is exactly what happens when you let a giant company be both the umpire and a player in the game,” said Warren. "Amazon needs to explain why it misled Congress — and we need to break up Amazon and big tech."

"At best, Amazon’s witness appears to have misrepresented key aspects of Amazon’s business practices while omitting important details in response to pointed questioning," said Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), who heads the House Judiciary's subcommittee on antitrust policy. "At worst, the witness Amazon sent to speak on its behalf may have lied to Congress."

Amazon officials deny details of the report and say they did not "intentionally mislead" Congress, but say they plan an internal investigation into the matter.