Amazon calls itself small business pal with Bezos set to testify

Amazon’s positioning as a friend of small business may help blunt criticism that the company abuses its market power, but critics say the tech giant used its trove of data on merchants to identify best-sellers and then gin up copycat products. — AFP

Amazon.com Inc is touting the success of the independent merchants on its site, previewing arguments chief executive officer Jeff Bezos is expected to make next week to a US congressional committee.

The Amazon founder is scheduled to testify on Monday before a House of Representatives panel probing competition in tech, alongside the top executives at Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc and Facebook Inc. It will be Bezos’s first appearance before Congress.