Amazon seeks dismissal of alleged web traffic sharing antitrust lawsuit
The lawsuit alleges that Amazon refused to engage with Subspace, an action considered an abuse of its market power in the cloud networking field.
Amazon has requested US district court in Seattle to reject a lawsuit alleging that AWS, its cloud-computing division, suppressed a startup collaborating with Epic Games and others to deliver high-speed internet. It has urged the court to dismiss Subspace Omega’s lawsuit, citing the lack of obligation for AWS to provide global network connections at no cost.
Subspace, a now-defunct Wyoming-based firm, alleges Amazon ended a mutually beneficial networking arrangement in a strategic move to force the company out of business, thus violating antitrust laws. The firm seeks $417 million in damages, claiming AWS seeks to protect its monopoly by eliminating competition.
The lawsuit alleges that Amazon refused to engage with Subspace, an action considered an abuse of its market power in the cloud networking field. Moreover, after terminating their agreement, Amazon assumed Subspace’s network optimization services for Epic Games, leading to Subspace’s inability to fulfil its contract with Epic, its main client. In response, Amazon’s filing stated that daily business negotiations aren’t grounds for antitrust violations.
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