Amazon is being targeted again, and the cloud business faces antitrust scrutiny from the U.S. FTC

Recent news shows that under the leadership of the new head who is regarded as an antitrust fighter, the U.S. regulator, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is reviewing whether cloud computing, an important business of tech giant Amazon, violates antitrust regulations.

On Wednesday, 22nd, Eastern Time, the media quoted informed sources as saying that in recent months, FTC investigators have contacted some companies to collect information about the competition of Amazon's cloud business Amazon Web Services (AWS), and at least one company has been contacted in recent weeks. Amazon has provided information at the request of the FTC.

One question the FTC may be investigating is whether Amazon has an incentive to exclude software companies that sell their products to AWS customers and compete with AWS, because the FTC is concerned that Amazon may punish companies that work with other cloud service providers in favor of those dedicated partners of AWS.

After the above news came out in the afternoon session of the US stock market, Amazon's stock price, which had risen nearly 1% in the morning, turned down again after the morning session, once approaching the intraday low at the beginning of the session, and the intraday decline expanded to about 0.8%.

The stock price decline is not a surprise, AWS is the main source of Amazon's profits and is the company's most profitable business unit. According to the earnings report, in the third quarter of this year, AWS recorded operating income of about $16.1 billion, an increase of 39% year-on-year, and was the only business with revenue higher than the market expected in the quarter, and nearly 15% of Amazon's revenue in the quarter came from AWS.

During the Trump administration, the FTC was already investigating Amazon. News on Wednesday showed that the FTC was still actively investigating after the new leadership.

As a student, Khan became a hit for publishing "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox" in Yale Law Journal in 2017. The traditional antitrust framework focused on consumer welfare is not enough to assess digital giants like Amazon. Khan also worked with the antitrust group Open Markets Institute to write articles accusing Amazon of violating antitrust laws.

In June, the month of Khan's inauguration, Amazon filed a motion with the FTC to ask Khan to recuse himself from antitrust investigations. Claiming that Khan has made a presumption of guilt against Amazon, denying these "prejudices" is tantamount to overturning the foundations of her personal career. Facebook, which filed the same recusal application in July, said: "Throughout his career, Chairman Khan has continued to make very public determinations that Facebook violated antitrust laws. ”