2026 Start Date for FTC Trial Against Amazon

The Federal Trade Commission’s trial against Amazon (Seattle) alleging antitrust practices will not start until 2026, with the possibility of further delays, according to a court status report jointly filed by both parties this week. The FTC estimated May 2026 as a start date for the trial. Amazon countered that it would not be prepared for a trial until December 2026. 

“This case presents complex legal and factual issues that require substantial discovery,” the FTC said in the status report. “Amazon’s inefficient proposal would be more burdensome for government plaintiffs and the Court and could unnecessarily delay the progress of this case.”

The FTC and 17 states jointly filed suit against Amazon in September, alleging numerous accounts of anticompetitive behavior, including: 

• The company developed and used an algorithm to identify the products on its website that can be sold at a higher price without losing customers. The FTC alleges Amazon made $1 billion in excess profits by using this algorithm.
• The company coerces third-party sellers on its site to sell products for lower amounts than on other sites. If they don’t comply, their products are sent to the bottom of search results.
• The company replaces organic searches with paid listings and advertisements.
• The company biases its search results to deliberately prioritize its own products.

In the status report, Amazon said it “competes every minute of every day with thousands of online and brick-and-mortar retailers. To meet that competition, Amazon has relentlessly innovated, delivering previously unimagined benefits for consumers and pushing competitors to do likewise, all to make every penny of a consumer’s purchase count for more.”

On December 8, Amazon asked a federal court to dismiss the suit. No decision has been made regarding the motion.