Investigators from the Federal Trade Commission have started an investigation in Amazon.com’s marketplace, according to a report published by Bloomberg Wednesday.

According to other recent reports, this current investigation is part of a wider probe into big tech and how some companies might be stifling competition. Speaking at a conference Tuesday, Bilal Sayyed, the FTC’s director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning, talked about “immediate and long-term enforcement efforts of the commission” related to the antitrust investigations.

Bloomberg reported that three merchants were interviewed this week by the FTC. Those merchants were asked a number of questions for around 90 minutes, and the topic at times revolved around what other choices these merchants have besides doing business with Amazon.

“Early in an investigation, that’s a sign of staff doing a serious job,” a former FTC attorney told Bloomberg. “They’re spending lots of time with witnesses and trying to really understand what they’re saying.”

Amazon didn’t reply when asked about the investigation, although it made reference to a statement made earlier this year by Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s chief executive of worldwide consumer operations.

“We believe that most substantial entities in the economy deserve scrutiny,” said Wilke. “Our job is to build the kind of company that passes that scrutiny with flying colors. I think that substantial entities in the economy deserve scrutiny and our job is to build a company that passes that scrutiny.”

The probe comes on the back of the investigation by the Justice Department to understand how tech giants such as Amazon, Google LLC and Facebook Inc. grew to such huge proportions. According to the New York Times in June, the FTC and the Justice Department both share responsibilities in such investigations.

Only this week 50 attorneys general joined an antitrust probe into Google, while Facebook is also being looked into for its monopoly in the social media market and stranglehold on digital advertising. It seems these investigations are being welcomed by watchdogs and policymakers, with some people saying it’s about time the government held a microscope to some company’s dominance.

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