Senator Elizabeth Warren has asked the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a comprehensive investigation into Amazon's proposed acquisition of MGM, claiming that the deal might hurt consumers and have anticompetitive implications in the streaming market and beyond. Warren urged the FTC to look into "the possible anticompetitive effects this transaction will have on streaming services and entertainment products, as well as the broader impacts that this transaction may have on workers, small businesses, and competition overall," in a letter addressed to newly sworn-in FTC chair Lina Khan and shared exclusively with The Verge. According to reports, the FTC is looking into the purchase as part of a wider antitrust probe of Amazon's operations. Warren referenced Section 7 of the Clayton Antitrust Act in her letter to Khan, which prohibits acquisitions that “may materially reduce competition or tend to create a monopoly.” Because Amazon's economic effect is so broad — including, but not limited to, its services sector — Warren argues that a transaction that helps Amazon's streaming service Prime Video would further enhance the company's position in the market. Although Amazon has a small presence in the film business, it will gain a variety of advantages as it expands. The company's vast coffers give it an almost unrivaled ability to invest extensively in order to enhance its position in the streaming battles. Furthermore, Prime Video is one of several services given as “perks” rather than separate paid memberships. Amazon's premium Prime subscription program, which costs $119 per year, is becoming more appealing thanks to new features such as exclusive content. Amazon revealed in May that it has agreed to pay $8.45 billion for the heritage film studio. Amazon was lured to MGM because of "the tremendous wealth of IP in the deep library that we want to reinvent and create along with MGM's skilled team," according to Mike Hopkins, SVP of Prime Video and Amazon Studios at the time. Warren, on the other hand, wrote in her letter that the company's "tactic of operating at a loss and using low prices to lure in customers and capture the market has worked before," and that the FTC "must determine whether this vertical acquisition is truly an entertainment strategy or merely another step toward unfettered monopolization."