In anticipation of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) response to the American Bookseller Association’s (ABA’s) motion to intervene in its case against Amazon today, Morgan Reed, president of ACT | The App Association, released the following statement:
“The Booksellers’ motion to intervene in this case is just the latest example of how incoherent and anti-small business the FTC’s campaign against curated online marketplaces has been.
“The Booksellers’ central assertion is that Amazon kept book prices too low. Of course, the cornerstone of the FTC’s case is that Amazon kept book (and other) prices too high. The Booksellers’ fundamental claims are mutually exclusive to the FTC’s. Add this embarrassing turn of events to the FTC’s recent, inexplicable assault on our member companies’ ability to get acquired, wrapping up potential acquisitions in red tape and kneecapping small businesses with crushing uncertainty.
“This comedy of errors is not funny for small companies that voluntarily choose and benefit significantly from curated online marketplaces every day for lower-cost access to global marketplaces at scale. The FTC’s relentless pursuit of eliminating the online marketplace services that benefit small businesses first and foremost would only serve to increase costs and barriers to entry by eliminating the distribution channels that make the most sense for small, startup firms.”