The Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit announced against Amazon.com Inc. last week and a Justice Department suit against Google LLC are seen by some as an indication that the executive branch is moving to correct what it considers market distortions in areas where Congress has not acted on antitrust issues.
The FTC lawsuit alleges that Amazon squeezed out competitors to maintain monopoly power. In the U.S. v. Google trial that began last month, the Justice Department is alleging that the search engine company stomped out competition.
“What would have happened if Congress had actually enacted bipartisan legislation?” said Maurice Stucke, a professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law and a former Justice Department antitrust lawyer. While that answer is unclear, the lawsuits rest on how U.S. courts interpret key provisions of the Sherman Act, a 19th century law that governs monopolies and unfair practices, Stucke said in an interview.
