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Amazon execs destroyed years of evidence before FTC action, agency says (www.seattletimes.com)
submitted 1 year ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Amazon execs destroyed years of evidence before FTC action, agency says::Amazon allegedly destroyed communications, turned controversial programs on and off, and knowingly raised prices for consumers, according to unsealed documents.

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[-] Skies5394@lemmy.ml 174 points 1 year ago

When the fuck are they going to stop treating these companies and executives with kid gloves?

Why do they do these things, shred evidence, lie on the stand, and break almost every white collar law there is? Because there are little to no consequences. And if there are it’s for people in the “out” group. New money.

Crack down on all of them. Shredding evidence should be an admission of guilt. Full stop.

[-] skizzles@lemmy.ml 26 points 1 year ago

When Citizens United gets overturned (i.e. never).

[-] jwagner7813@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

But the second you steal money from them, youll be only trial for your life pretty darn quick.

[-] Stanard@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

How optimistic to think you'd make it to trial for your theft.

[-] satan@r.nf 2 points 1 year ago

You think the government is running the country? Have you been living under a rock?

They'll fuck you raw, and you'll say thanks daddy!

[-] TheBat@lemmy.world 119 points 1 year ago

Split Amazon into retail and web services and then further split them into multiple different companies. Amazon has gotten way too big and stifling competition along the way.

Do the same to Facebook too while we're at it. Fucking hate speech central.

[-] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 24 points 1 year ago

Amazon, meta, Google, Microsoft, Apple...

[-] TheBat@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Even though I'm not a fan of Apple, I am not sure how it could be split. Unlike other companies mentioned, Apple is firmly in consumer electronics business, except for Apple TV+ which is a recent addition.

Their software products also exist to work only on specific hardware.

Also, only today I figured out that they have their own office suite lol. Don't know why I never thought about it before

[-] LufyCZ@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

They are heavily vertically integrated, even if split, they'd still work together as one company, because they simply don't have any other choice.

There are many products all of these companies have that aren't profitable (f.e. YouTube would either die or get enshitified to hell, can't see Prime Music surviving without the rest of the Prime ecosystem etc.).

Splitting most of these up would not help anyone.

[-] TheBat@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

There are many products all of these companies have that aren't profitable

Splitting most of these up would not help anyone.

Good.

Companies have been using their profitable ventures to get dominant (or even solo) position in another market segment by undercutting the competition and then degrade their services as there's no other alternative for customers.

This should force them (and customers) to reconsider their offerings and the pricing for it.

[-] LufyCZ@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Everyone is complaining about services raising prices all the time. YouTube introducing anti-adblock tech has caused an uproar.

Do you know why YouTube is dominant? It's because it's subsidized. Running a service like that is more expensive than you could ever imagine and it's free, thanks to subsidization.

I'm not saying Google's a good company, but consider how much value YouTube has brought into the world - it's not only entertainment, but also education.

It wouldn't survive on it's own.

Splitting up companies makes no sense. They could (and in 99% of cases still would) work together as one. Regulating them and holding them accountable does, much more. Why not start there, instead of wasting your time here?

[-] LukeMedia@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

That's one of the issues with these business models, it's hard to give a consumer something and then take it away later to turn a profit (enshittification).

[-] LufyCZ@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

So what you're saying is that instead of allowing companies to enshitiffy, we just kill all of them instantly?

[-] uis@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

It's because it's subsidized.

Do you know why google is ad monopoly? Because they have all youtube info.

[-] LufyCZ@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

There's no way that's true. It's a piece of it for sure, but they are neither an ad monopoly or a monopoly dependent on YouTube info.

[-] uis@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Their streaming. Also split software development and hardware development.

[-] TheBat@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

But they only develop software for their hardware. Even after splitting, the Apple Software will only have one customer: Apple Hardware.

[-] uis@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

But Apple Hardware will have multiple suppliers

[-] Why9@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

MAGMA

[-] uis@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Alpha, beta, GAMMA

[-] EnderMB@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

They (technically) already are. I work for Amazon, but I don't get paid by "Amazon". I get paid for the subsidiary I work for.

Splitting is fine, but it's easily dealt with by megacorps. If anything, if the idea is floated, it's probably because they're absolutely fine with it.

If you want to break Amazon apart, do the one thing they hate. Enable their employees to unionize, and empower them to fight the decades-long HR machine that ruins corporate employees lives.

[-] SchizoDenji@lemm.ee 13 points 1 year ago

The moment you seperate AWS from the rest, the rest will shut down.

[-] rustyricotta@lemmy.ml 31 points 1 year ago

If Amazon (retail) can't survive on it's own without exploiting workers and all the other crap they do, then we'll be better off without it.

[-] TheBat@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

I'm not just asking to separate AWS. I want AWS to further split into different companies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_the_Bell_System

[-] Squizzy@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Why would you think that it isn't profitable?

[-] lutillian@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Because they sell the bulk of their products at a loss. They use their webservices platform to bankroll their retail platform so they can undersell even Walmart. Some years it does turn a slight profit but generally it's fairly negative but no matter what it doesn't offset the pure profit that is the web services division. https://ir.aboutamazon.com/quarterly-results/default.aspx

[-] ammonium@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Serious question, why do they then even bother with the retail platform?

[-] lutillian@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 year ago

If I had to guess, to achieve the ultimate conclusion of the Walmart plan, squash every other retailer in the nation and then raise prices.

[-] SchizoDenji@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

Brand awareness, data metrics, upselling their shitty amazon choice products.

[-] jwagner7813@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Gotta go further and deeper then that too. There are other, larger and more diverse companies that are hiding in plain site behind the more popular business like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, etc...

[-] ChihuahuaOfDoom@lemmy.world 66 points 1 year ago

Corporate death penalty should be on the table for stuff like this.

[-] wooki@lemmynsfw.com 4 points 1 year ago

Scandalist communism!

[-] uis@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Didn't expect US to be communist country.

[-] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 year ago

it is the natural recourse of capitalism to create an enemy. that's what competition is.

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[-] chuckleslord@lemmy.world 58 points 1 year ago

Treat the destruction of evidence as proof of guilt and assume the worst case scenario. Ya know, the thing we do with criminals.

[-] EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

We don’t turn destruction of evidence as proof of guilt with criminals, it’s just a separate crime.

[-] NightAuthor@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

Legally we don't, but generally, as people... I think most of us look at destruction of evidence as at least evidence of guilt.

[-] Mango@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Since when is that proof of guilt? I can see it being it's own specific crime, but it proves nothing.

[-] uis@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

It only works with people. Capitalism.

[-] chuckleslord@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Yeah, I know that. I didn't say what WILL happen, just what SHOULD

[-] db2@sopuli.xyz 36 points 1 year ago

They'll fine Amazon a pittance, pocket it, declare victory, and there's nothing we can do about it.

[-] agitatedpotato@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Nothing legal we can do.

[-] DeadWorld@lemm.ee 24 points 1 year ago

The executives need to be charged and Amazon should be put on a tight regulatory leash, if not broken up completely

[-] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 year ago

Legislative to CEO: You get a $5 fine. Now stop doing that or I'll increase it to $10! >:(

[-] hogunner@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

Get money out of politics and these problems go away (because they will be dealt with properly).

this post was submitted on 03 Nov 2023
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