Amazon accuses FTC of harassing executives including Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy

Amazon has accused the US Federal Trade Commission of harassing its top executives, including founder Jeff Bezos and chief executive Andy Jassy.

The regulators have been looking into whether Amazon uses deceptive techniques to lure customers into signing up for Prime, the subscription service that offers free delivery and other benefits at a cost of $139 a year.

The FTC is looking into whether Amazon makes it harder for customers to cancel their memberships.

The investigation had become burdensome on employees and executives after at least 19 were served individual subpoenas, according to a filing made public on Monday.

The company called for the FTC to limit the demands, which it said served no other purpose other than to harass Amazon's highest-ranking executives.

It would be a huge burden for Bezos and Jassy to be briefed on the details. The deadline should be extended according to the company.

The FTC didn't reply to the request. Amazon did not reply to questions.

According to Amazon, the FTC gave the company and its executives just a few weeks to comply. The FTC circumvented Amazon's legal team to serve the subpoenas directly to the individuals, creating confusion and delays.

Doug Herrington, Amazon's head of retail, and Russell Grandinetti, head of international consumer, were among the executives who received subpoenas.

Dave Clark, who had been head of worldwide consumer, was also served.

The FTC denied one subpoenaed employee full access to Amazon's legal team, according to the filing. One acrimonious investigative hearing that ended after just a few minutes was described in the report.

The Prime program is seen as a linchpin of Amazon's success and members spend more money than non-members. 7 percent of Amazon's revenue in the second quarter came from subscription fees.

The FTC has pledged to crack down on the power of big tech groups. The new set of guidelines was released in October and deals with deceptive tactics online.

The FTC has expanded its investigation to include four other Amazon subscription services.

Three of the FTC's Commissioners are Democrats and two of them are Republicans.

The details of the filing were reported by Business Insider.

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