Apr 27, 2024 23:00:00

The Federal Trade Commission accuses former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and others of automatically deleting conversations on the messaging app Signal

Amazon,

which is facing antitrust lawsuits from regulators and 17 states , has been accused by the Federal Trade Commission of using the messaging app Signal instead of email to communicate with its former CEOs, Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy, and using the app's automatic message-deleting feature to erase evidence.

FTC vs. Amazon - Signal - DocumentCloud
(PDF file) https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24623188-ftc-vs-amazon-signal

Amazon's Bezos, Jassy Deleted Chats Amid FTC Antitrust Probe - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-26/amazon-s-bezos-jassy-deleted-chats-despite-ftc-antitrust-probe

FTC says Amazon executives destroyed potential evidence by using apps like Signal - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/26/24141801/ftc-amazon-antitrust-signal-ephemeral-messaging-evidence

The FTC accuses Amazon of using Signal's auto-deleting messages to erase evidence
https://www.engadget.com/the-ftc-accuses-amazon-of-using-signals-auto-deleting-messages-to-erase-evidence-205431161.html

In September 2023, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon along with 17 states, alleging that the company was using its monopoly power to inflate prices.

In its filing, the FTC alleges that between April 2019 and May 2022, Amazon executives used the automatic message deletion feature in the messaging app Signal to erase evidence that would have been useful in an antitrust lawsuit.

Members who used Signal include founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos, current CEO Andy Jassy, lawyer David Zapolsky, Jeffrey Wilke, who was head of retail until August 2020, and Dave Clark, head of distribution, who left in 2022.

Messages that were not deleted show that Amazon executives used Signal to discuss business with competitors.

'The FTC's allegations are without merit,' Amazon spokesman Tim Doyle said in a statement. Instead, Amazon voluntarily disclosed to the FTC about its employees' use of Signal and thoroughly collected Signal conversation data from employees' mobile phones.

The FTC's antitrust lawsuit against Amazon is set for trial in October 2026.

By the way, Bezos' iPhone was hacked in 2019, and since then, he is believed to have become a heavy user of Signal.

How Jeff Bezos' iPhone was hacked by the Saudi Arabian crown prince? - GIGAZINE

by JD Lasica