09/26/2023

FTC, U.S., 17 States Sue Amazon

They are alleging monopolistic practices led to higher prices

On Sept. 26, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 17 state attorneys general filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Amazon seeking to bar the company from allegedly abusing its powers to raise prices for shoppers and levy high fees against businesses that sell on its platform.

The long-awaited lawsuit, filed in Western Washington district court, marks a historic political test of one of the world's most influential companies — as well as the regulators who have promised for years to rein in its allegedly monopolistic practices.

The FTC alleges that Amazon engages in illegal behavior in both its online shopping marketplace and in the many services it offers to third-party sellers, allowing the company to extract "monopoly rents from everyone within its reach," according to a news release about the suit. This means Amazon can boost its own products in search results over others that are better quality, and charge costly fees to sellers that rely on the tech giant to stay in business.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.