FTC asks for delay in Amazon Prime trial citing staff shortage, then backtracks on request
The Federal Trade Commission initially claimed it was short on staff and resources to pursue the case, but then later claimed it is equipped to pursue the trial.
The United States Federal Trade Commission flipflopped this week on asking a Seattle judge to delay its impending trial against Amazon over allegations of illegally tricking consumers into signing up for its Prime service. While the FTC was the one to sue Amazon over these allegations and was set to take the company to trial this month, it originally cited issues of staffing and availability as the reasons for its delay request. It later rescinded the request and claimed it has the resources to go to trial.
The FTC made its request for a delay in a hearing in a Seattle court this week, as reported by CNBC, and backtracked on said request soon after. FTC Attorney Johnathan Cohen originally asked Judge John Chun for a two-month continuance due in large part to limited staff for the case. When asked by Chun what would be “different in two months” if the continuation was issued, Cohen could offer only lax expectations, saying the FTC “cannot guarantee if things won’t be even worse." Later, the FTC would go on to withdraw its request, claiming it could go forward with the resources it has.
Source: Donald Trump
The request for a delay due to staff shortage comes amid a time when Elon Musk and the questionable Department of Government Efficiency have heavily cut federal staff across numerous departments in the United States national government. Over 62,000 employees were affected in February alone and it shows no signs of stopping anytime soon, even as Tesla faces stock fallout from the controversial moves Elon Musk as made, including targeting Social Security and Medicaid.
What this means for the FTC’s ability to carry out enforcement of consumer protection laws is also left questionable. What we see out of the case against Amazon Prime could be a benchmark for what to expect in tech giant litigation in the United States going forward. Stay tuned to the FTC topic for further updates.
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replyTJ Denzer posted a new article, FTC asks for delay in Amazon Prime trial citing staff shortage, then backtracks on request
