Americans Need a 0% Tax Rate Like Amazon
The War Against Mom and Pop Shops Rages On
People scream in fear when they hear “free market” and point to companies like Amazon. But Amazon is not the product of a free market. A free market also means fair competition. In this area, the government has provided Amazon with immunity from lawsuits, allowed the company to pay zero taxes, and has financed the company through subsidies.
Qualified Immunity for Big Tech
An unfair advantage is created when an industry is immune from lawsuits and not held accountable for how consumers use their product while another industry is not immune to such action.
In this case, however, the immunity that a company like Amazon has come directly from the federal government. Section 230 from the Communications Decency Act gives Big Tech “immunity from liability.” This prevents tech companies from being accountable for anything that is written, sold, or advertised on their platforms.
Amazon’s legal team has successfully argued using Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, stating that because it’s simply a marketplace as opposed to a retailer, the sellers on its marketplace actually represent “speakers” and are therefore free to speak or sell anything they wish. This allows Amazon to not be held accountable when a product sold by third-party harms consumers.
Any normal mom and pop store or even a retailer such as Walmart or BestBuy is held accountable because they are not immune from lawsuits or even legal action by the government. Legal action against Amazon becomes more difficult because of Section 230 and similar laws.
One example of this immunity comes from the case of a faulty hairdryer. Wendy Weintraub noticed smoke and the smell of burning coming from her hairdryer. Soon, she saw some small metallic part shoot out of her hairdryer. Her bathroom was in flames. Weintraub pulled out her fire extinguisher, attempting to fight back the flames. The fire soon spread. Firefighters helped her out of her home.
