Jeff Bezos and Amazon Execs Used An Encrypted Messaging App to Talk About 'Sensitive Business Matters,' FTC Alleges

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleged successful a Thursday tribunal filing that Amazon executives, including laminitis Jeff Bezos and CEO Andy Jassy, discussed "sensitive business matters" successful now-erased matter messages that could person been utilized arsenic grounds successful nan FTC's ongoing antitrust case against Amazon.

According to nan Thursday filing, elder Amazon leaders utilized nan encrypted Signal messaging app from April 2019 to May 2022 and continued to delete messages done nan app's disappearing message characteristic — moreover erstwhile nan FTC was investigating Amazon.

"Amazon executives deleted galore Signal messages during Plaintiffs' pre-Complaint investigation, and Amazon did not instruct labor to sphere Signal messages until complete 15 months aft Amazon knew that Plaintiffs' investigation was underway," nan FTC wrote successful nan filing.

Amazon laminitis Jeff Bezos. Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

The FTC named Bezos, arsenic good arsenic different elder executives for illustration Amazon's apical lawyer David Zapolsky, arsenic immoderate of nan leaders that utilized Signal and its disappearing messages feature.

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The filing is 1 portion of a bigger antitrust lawsuit that kicked disconnected successful September erstwhile nan FTC sued Amazon, accusing nan unit elephantine of illegally maintaining a monopoly done anticompetitive practices.

Amazon responded that nan suit could negatively effect some nan consumers who shop connected its level pinch higher prices and nan independent businesses that waste products done it.

In Thursday's filing, nan FTC asked for much accusation astir really Amazon's activity told labor to pass connected Signal, including erstwhile to usage it and if location were circumstantial instructions astir deleting messages.

Related: Amazon Used a 'Secret Algorithm' to Inflate Prices by Over $1 Billion, FTC Says

Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle told Bloomberg that nan FTC's allegations were "baseless" and that Amazon disclosed its Signal usage to nan FTC "years ago."

Doyle besides told Business Insider that "the FTC has a complete image of Amazon's decision-making successful this lawsuit including 1.7 cardinal documents from sources for illustration email, soul messaging applications, and laptops (among different sources), and complete 100 terabytes of data."