The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general on Tuesday filed a much-anticipated antitrust case against Amazon, alleging the retailing giant illegally wields monopoly power to maintain higher prices, harming customers and hurting rivals.
“Our complaint lays out how Amazon has used a set of punitive and coercive tactics to unlawfully maintain its monopolies,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement. “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.”
Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The legal showdown comes after Amazon attorneys gave no ground in discussions last month with the FTC, both Politico and the Wall Street Journal reported. The complaint focuses on Amazon’s business practices that the FTC contends block lower prices on rival sites and compel merchants to use the e-commerce company’s logistics and advertising services.
The FTC case relies on showing how Amazon’s business practices allegedly violate antitrust laws.
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