The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has accused Amazon’s top executives, including founder Jeff Bezos and CEO Andy Jesse, of destroying text messages discussing business matters amid the agency’s antitrust investigation into the company.

The FTC alleges that between April 2019 and May 2022, Bezos and Jesse, among other Amazon executives, communicated using Signal, which has a feature that deletes messages, thus erasing evidence that the FTC could have used in its antitrust case against Amazon.

The use of encrypted messaging platforms like Signal for business communications can complicate regulatory investigations because messages can be set to self-destruct, potentially making it difficult for authorities to access vital evidence.

The FTC alleges that Amazon failed to preserve these documents, which it was required to do as part of the ongoing antitrust investigation.

In September 2023, the FTC filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the company of operating an illegal monopoly and using anti-competitive practices to prevent competitors from gaining a foothold in the digital retail market. These strategies likely included punishing sellers who offer lower prices away from Amazon and aggressively pushing them to achieve Prime status for their goods, making it significantly more expensive for sellers to offer their products on other platforms as well.

In December 2023, Amazon asked the court to dismiss the FTC’s lawsuit, claiming that the agency “confused common retail practices with anticompetitive conduct.” The FTC then asked the court to do so Reject Amazon’s request In a statement that she detailed how Amazon has a monopoly and explained how the company illegally maintains its monopoly power.

A US federal judge has set an October 2026 trial date for the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. Both the FTC and Amazon are currently discussing the timeline, scope and rationale of the case.

You can read the details of the claim Here.

Through Bloomberg (paywall)