Media: Press Release

Black Friday: Buy Small, Not Amazon

November 24, 2021

WASHINGTON – Mike Davis, Founder and President of the Internet Accountability Project, today released the following statement calling on Americans to shop directly at small businesses on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday and avoid purchasing through Amazon, which engages in unfair and anticompetitive practices by self-preferencing its own products on its platform.

“Americans should reject Amazon’s tax on small businesses this holiday season by purchasing gifts for themselves, friends and family directly at small businesses, which are the backbone of the U.S. economy. Amazon imposes a high fee on small businesses to sell on its platform and then sells similar or identical products, creating artificially lower prices that prevent small businesses from reaching consumers and competing on a level playing field. Bipartisan legislation to stop self-preferencing is making its way through Congress and should be a priority for lawmakers when they return. Amazon’s destructive, unfair and anticompetitive practices are crushing small businesses and must be stopped. In the meantime, the best step Americans can take to rein in Big Tech is to shop small and stop feeding the Amazon beast.”

IAP is a nonprofit conservative advocacy group that holds Big Tech accountable for engaging in egregious business practices like snooping, spying, political bias against conservatives, employee abuses and anticompetitive conduct. Davis previously served as Chief Counsel for Nominations to Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and led the Senate confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and a record number of circuit court judges. More information on Davis and IAP can be found here.