Online powerhouse Amazon is facing a lawsuit from U.S. regulators and 17 states, all claiming that the company has a position in the marketplace to inflate prices on other platforms and overcharge sellers.
The lawsuit is a result of a years-long investigation into Amazon by the Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC and states that joined “are asking the court to issue a permanent injunction court that they say would prohibit Amazon from engaging in its unlawful conduct and loosen its ‘monopolistic control to restore competition,’” per The Associated Press.
“The complaint sets forth detailed allegations noting how Amazon is now exploiting its monopoly power to enrich itself while raising prices and degrading service for the tens of millions of American families who shop on its platform and the hundreds of thousands of businesses that rely on Amazon to reach them,” FTC Chairman Lina Khan said in a prepared statement.
The Associated Press adds:
“(The FTC and states) allege the company engages in anti-competitive practices through anti-discounting measures that deter sellers from offering lower prices for products on non-Amazon sites, mirroring allegations made in a separate lawsuit last year by the state of California. The complaint says Amazon can bury listings that are offered at lower prices on other sites.
“The complaint also says the company degrades the customer experience by replacing relevant search results with paid advertisements, biasing its own brands over other products it knows to be of a better quality and charging heavy fees that forces sellers to pay nearly half of their total revenues to Amazon.”
Read More Here: Amazon Being Sued by FTC and 17 States
