Thread by @Molson_Hart

I criticized Amazon’s policies in a blogpost.

Now, their lawyers are trying to ruin me.

This is a thread on:

1. What I said about Amazon
2. How Amazon's lawyers have retaliated
3. Why it matters to Amazon customers, sellers, stockholders, and even Amazon itself twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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.

medium.com/swlh/amazon-ne…

This is a big deal.

Vox's Land of the Giants podcast interviewed me because of it...

vox.com/land-of-the-gi…

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.

npr.org/2022/09/14/112…

And in response, Amazon served me with a lawsuit.

Yes, I had more hair in 2019 (and none of it was grey)...

That's what 4 years of selling on Amazon will do to you!

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.

@DelRey @spencersoper @ShiraOvide @AlanaSemuels please see what happens when you speak publicly about Amazon.

This is why it is so hard to find Amazon sellers to speak publicly.

@matthewstoller @stacyfmitchell @superwuster

I think you might find what's happening in this lawsuit interesting wrt your study of Amazon's power in the marketplace.

Thank you!

@elonmusk you broke ground with the Desantis candidate announcement on Twitter.

Can we break more ground by doing Amazon's 2+ day of depositions in Austin on Twitter spaces?

@JudgeCarter,

I have 5 employees in your district and and this pending lawsuit in Williamson County affects all of us.

I don't know what you can do, but I'd appreciate it if your office took a look.

Thank you Sir.

@RepLloydDoggett

Congressman Doggett, I was in contact with your district about legislation to resolve these issues for American consumers.

I hope you or someone from your office can read this thread.

Thank you!

@LynAldenContact I thought you might find this lawsuit interesting as it pertains to inflation expectations.

Separately I'm a big fan of your work fwiw.

@theallinpod @DavidSacks @Jason I feel like you guys might find this upcoming government vs. Amazon battle interesting

@balajis I can't give you a reason for why you'd find this interesting, but somehow my intuition says I should send this thread about gov't vs. amazon your way.

Thank you

@JeffBezos @ajassy @DavidZapolsky @dharmeshmehta

Sigh, I'm not sure what to say.

From the heart, don't do this to me.

Don't do this to yourselves.

This is a pivotal moment in Amazon history and Amazon has to get it right for your customers, your sellers, employees, and for… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…