FTC Accuses Amazon of Overcharging Sellers and Inflating Prices
On Tuesday, Amazon was hit with an antitrust lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorney generals. The lawsuit claims that the e-commerce giant leverages its market dominance to raise prices on other platforms, unfairly charge sellers, and suppress competition.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, is the result of a years-long investigation into Amazon’s business practices and one of the most significant legal challenges brought against the company in its nearly 30-year history.
According to a press release sent out by the agency, the FTC and the states that joined the suit are asking the court to issue a permanent injunction that they say would prohibit Amazon from engaging in its illegal activities and loosen its “monopolistic control to restore competition.” “
“The complaint details allegations of how Amazon is now using its monopoly position to enrich itself while raising prices and degrading service to the tens of millions of American families who shop on its platform and the hundreds of thousands of businesses that depend on Amazon to reach them” , FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan said in a statement.
Many had wondered whether the agency would seek to break up the retail giant, which is also dominant in cloud computing and has a growing presence in other sectors such as grocery and healthcare. At a briefing with reporters, Khan dodged questions about whether that would happen.
“At this point, the focus is more on accountability,” he said.
