An antitrust complaint filed by the District of Columbia’s attorney general claims the retail giant’s online marketplace puts restrictions on sellers that drive up consumer prices.
Amazon tractor trailers line up outside the Amazon Fulfillment Center in the Staten Island borough of New York last year. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
WASHINGTON (CN) Online retailer Amazon has crushed its competition by instituting a policy that can remove sellers from the platform if they offer products for less on another website, according to a complaint filed by the attorney general of the nation’s capital.
The antitrust suit filed Tuesday in the District of Columbia Superior Court claims that until 2019, business owners were required to sign an agreement with Amazon that forbade third-party sellers from selling goods on another platform at a lower price. After facing government scrutiny, the complaint states this price parity contract provision was later replaced with an “effectively-ident
This April 21, 2020, photo shows Amazon tractor-trailers line up outside the Amazon Fulfillment Center in the Staten Island borough of New York. The District of Columbia has sued Amazon, Tuesday, May 25, 2021, accusing the online retail giant of . more > By Emily Zantow - The Washington Times - Tuesday, May 25, 2021
D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine filed an antitrust lawsuit Tuesday against Amazon alleging that the online retail giant has been illegally controlling online market prices for years.
Mr. Racine told reporters during a conference call that Amazon bowed to pressure from Congress in 2019 and removed a parity policy that barred third-party vendors from selling their products on other sites at a lower price.
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DC AG Sues Amazon For Antitrust Violations
Law360 (May 25, 2021, 11:48 AM EDT) The Attorney General of the District of Columbia sued Amazon Inc. on Tuesday, accusing the e-commerce giant of stifling competition through contracts with sellers on its platform, resulting in higher prices for consumers and reducing innovation for online retail marketplaces.
Amazon was hit with a suit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday claiming it stifled competition by preventing sellers on its platform from selling their products cheaper elsewhere. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) Attorney General Karl A. Racine filed the suit in D.C. Superior Court alleging Amazon violated district codes barring restraints on trade and monopolization, codes that bar business conduct along the same lines.