FTC charges Amazon for manipulating evidence through the Signal app

The Federal Trade Commission accused Senior Amazon officials for exploiting the Signal app's vanishing conversations function to remove data that was essential to a big antitrust action that was brought in 2023. It has been reported that this practice goes beyond Amazon; a number of other businesses are reportedly using encrypted messaging apps like Signal—which have the ability to permanently delete conversations.

The FTC, and over a dozen state attorneys general, began an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that the e-commerce giant unlawfully exploited its market dominance to quash potential competitors.

The lawsuit focused on aspects of Amazon's operations catering to consumers and sellers.

FTC mainly accused Amazon of penalizing sellers who provide cheaper products on alternative platforms, and limiting the eligibility of sellers for Prime shipping privileges.

Additionally, the commission challenged Amazon's ability to manipulate search results to prioritize its products.

Prominent figures within Amazon, including ex-CEO Jeff Bezos, current CEO Andy Jassy, general counsel David Zapolsky, and Dave Clark, former CEO of worldwide operations, have been identified by the FTC's lawyers as heavy users of Signal. The FTC alleges that Amazon didn't instruct its employees to retain messages, sent until more than 15 months after being informed of the investigation.

The FTC is now investigating Amazon's efforts to preserve documents to determine the extent of potential information loss. The FTC wants a federal judge's intervention to compel Amazon to produce documents related to its data handling practices.