Amazon sues to stop Washington Post records release in Bezos vs. Bezos battle

Two Jeff Bezos-affiliated companies have squared off in a Washington state court as Amazon sought to limit the release of records requested by the billionaire’s paper, The Washington Post.

In a suit filed Monday in King County Superior Court, Amazon asked to put the brakes on a Post request from November for files regarding Amazon’s Project Kuiper, a plan to use low-orbit satellites to provide internet service and challenge the SpaceX’s Starlink program.

The paper sought more information from state labor and industrial regulators over a series of four on-site investigations that took place between August and October of 2024 at a Kuiper facility in the city of Redmond, according to court documents.

Amazon argued in the suit that it’s not trying to block the record release overall, but rather ensure that material is not made public that discloses trade secrets.

“Every aspect of the satellites, propulsion system, their component parts, and the constellation as a whole contain proprietary and trade secret information,” the company argued in the filing.

The Independent has contacted Amazon’s attorneys in the suit and The Washington Post for comment.

Bezos announced in 2021 that he was stepping down as CEO of Amazon, which he founded, but remains the company’s executive chair. The billionaire purchased the Post in 2013.

As Bezos acknowledged over the fall, amid controversy that the paper pulled an endorsement of Kamala Harris that was reportedly in development and instead declined to endorse any candidate, his position as both a businessman and newsroom leader occasionally makes for some awkwardness.

“When it comes to the appearance of conflict, I am not an ideal owner of The Post,” Bezos wrote in an opinion piece. “Every day, somewhere, some Amazon executive or Blue Origin executive or someone from the other philanthropies and companies I own or invest in is meeting with government officials. I once wrote that The Post is a ‘complexifier’ for me. It is, but it turns out I’m also a complexifier for The Post.”

Bezos was among the tech leaders who attended Donald Trump’s inauguration.