Several members of the US Congress issued a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about the announcement acquisition from iRobot Corporation IRBT through Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN.
That is why the legislators have reservations about the purchase.
What happened: A Letter The FTC’s recommendation to reject Amazon.com’s proposed acquisition of iRobot was signed by some members of Congress.
“I have serious concerns about the Amazon iRobot deal – dominant companies like Amazon shouldn’t be allowed to simply buy out of the competition.” Senator Elizabeth Warren said axios. “The FTC should oppose this proposed merger to protect competition, lower consumer prices and curb Amazon’s well-documented anticompetitive activities.”
The letter argued that the acquisition could “harm consumers and reduce competition” in the home robotics segment.
“Given Amazon’s record of violating consumer privacy and its continuing history of anti-competitive mergers to bolster its monopoly position, the FTC should use its powers to oppose the Amazon-iRobot transaction,” it said the letter.
iRobot has a dominant market share in the smart vacuum cleaner market of around 75%, which the letter says could severely hamper competitors.
The acquisition of iRobot followed Amazon multiple purchases in the field of household appliances, as explained in the letter. These included Blink and Ring.
The letter said Amazon has historically had a strategy of acquiring companies with strong market shares and crushing its competitors by offering discounts and leveraging its huge customer base. The letter called this “copy-acquire-kill.”
Privacy concerns were also mentioned in the letter, as iRobot gives Amazon access to mapping technology in consumers’ homes. The letter said the acquisition of iRobot combined with ownership of Ring and Blink would give Amazon “eyes and ears in houses.”
The letter was signed by Warren along with the following members of Congress:
Representative ….
