Locke Lord Partners Randy Hack and Brad Weber Quoted by The National Law Journal Examining DOJ and FTC Enforcement Strategies

Co-Chairs of Locke Lord’s Antitrust Practice Group Randy Hack and Brad Weber were quoted by the National Law Journal in an article examining the U.S. Justice Department’s (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) lawsuits against Google and Amazon, respectively, and exploring the agencies’ enforcement strategies. The complaints brought by both government agencies seek to restore competition in the marketplace.

“Overall, in both cases, the agencies have created an idea that consumers cannot choose to use companies besides Google or Amazon,” said Hack. “The argument that Google somehow is preventing consumers from accessing competitive search engines is counter to our experience in the real world. In the Amazon case … they’re treating consumers as if the only place we can buy is from Amazon.”

Weber added that the FTC — at most — will try to obtain a court order requiring the online retailer to change its business practices. “The complaint against Amazon is a lot narrower than what many people were expecting,” he said. “They are not challenging as many aspects of Amazon’s business model as what people were predicting.”

Read the full The National Law Journal article (subscription may be required).