The company Amazon sued a state agency in Washington to prevent the disclosure of confidential materials to the Washington Post newspaper, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The lawsuit, filed in the King County Superior Court, seeks to prevent the release of documents related to Amazon's Project Kuiper, an initiative to provide satellite internet. According to the lawsuit, the documents in question were gathered by the state Department of Labor and Industries during investigations at a Project Kuiper facility between August and October of last year. Amazon argues that the disclosure of these materials would compromise trade secrets, including sensitive information about technological capabilities and employee names. Amazon and the agency have had previous disputes, including cases related to workplace safety. In the past, Amazon has been embroiled in controversies over alleged safety violations in its warehouses. The company has also been involved in conflicts with regulators regarding subpoenas and fines. The Washington Post requested copies of the documents from the Department of Labor and Industries through a public records request. Amazon was notified of this request in early January and seeks to prevent the disclosure of sensitive personal information. A judge ruled in favor of Amazon in July, supporting its position in this case. Alongside this controversy, Amazon announced this week that it would lay off a limited number of employees from its communication and corporate responsibility department, which is expected to affect dozens of workers. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, also acquired the Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million.
