Warren, 5 Reps. Demand FTC Blocks Amazon-Roomba Deal

Multimillionaire socialist Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and five members of the House of Representatives are calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to block Amazon’s proposed acquisition of iRobot, the company that produces the popular Roomba cleaning robots.

“Given our concerns with Amazon’s anticompetitive policies that put consumers and their privacy at risk, we urge the FTC to oppose the proposed Amazon-iRobot acquisition,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

The deal was already under scrutiny from the FTC, which initiated a second request for information. Amazon is also in the process of acquiring One Medical, a primary care provider with in-person and telehealth services. The FTC has made a second request for information in that deal as well.

The scrutiny comes as lawmakers consider a slate of antitrust legislation aimed at Big Tech companies. The FTC is chaired by Lina Khan, an antitrust reformer who wrote a legal analysis of Amazon’s potential monopoly powers.

In a statement, Amazon pushed back against Warren’s letter, calling it “broadly inaccurate” with “a number of falsehoods… We will continue to cooperate with regulators, and we are confident that this deal is pro-competitive and will make customers’ lives better and easier.”