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Slashdot: Critic of Amazon's Policies Says Company's Lawyers Are Trying To Ruin Him

Critic of Amazon's Policies Says Company's Lawyers Are Trying To Ruin Him
Published on May 31, 2023 at 12:47AM
Entrepreneur Molson Hart, writing in a Twitter thread: I criticized Amazon's policies in a blogpost. Now, their lawyers are trying to ruin me. Four years ago, I wrote an article. It had a simple message: 1. Amazon doesn't allow sellers to price their products for less off-Amazon. 2. If they do, Amazon hides their products. 3. This keeps prices off-Amazon high, which is bad for consumers. This is a big deal. Vox's Land of the Giants podcast interviewed me because of it. And I even got to testify before Congress. But nothing happened until November 2022 when the state of California filed a complaint against Amazon. They cited me and made me a witness. And in response, Amazon served me with a lawsuit. I said Amazon's policy raises prices for consumers. That's evidence in this lawsuit. So Amazon's lawyers want to show that I'm lying or wrong. That's why they've requested all these documents. They want to find the ones which make me look bad. The problem with providing the documents is that it creates endless legal work. I can't afford to pay these legal bills through August 2026! The other problem is that no amount of documents is ever good enough for Amazon's attorneys. After I provided the first set of documents, they said that wasn't good enough. They requested more. And after I agreed to TWO DAYS of depositions, they said that wasn't good enough, either. They wanted more. If Amazon cannot show I'm lying or wrong, they'll lose. If they lose, they could be broken up for being a monopoly. But, I don't believe they should be. Amazon's attorneys aren't right when they called me a "critic of Amazon." I am a critic of Amazon's policies, NOT Amazon. Amazon, I've spent over 16 hours this past weekend gathering documents for your attorneys. You won't return my calls or e-mails. Your lawyers want to ruin me, but if you continue along this path, this lawsuit will not ruin me. It will ruin Amazon.

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