Amazon faces further regulatory pressure, sees spike in website outages (update)
HJBC

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is facing regulators on both sides of the Atlantic on Wednesday, just as users report issues with checkout functionality.
Shortly after the Seattle-based tech giant reached a $3.5M settlement with French regulators over contractual provisions related to third-party sellers, Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced a suit against the company.
âMy office is suing Amazon for stealing tips from delivery drivers through a deceptive, illegal scheme that made consumers think they were increasing driversâ pay when Amazon was actually diverting tips to reduce its own labor costs and increase profits,â he announced on Wednesday. âMy office will use every tool available to hold Amazonâand any company that lies to consumers and cheats workersâaccountable.â
The latest suit adds to antitrust probes in Europe and California, as well as a price-fixing suit launched in Washington state. A worker safety case against the company pursued by the New York state AG was recently dropped. 
Elsewhere, Amazonâs website and app were reported to be experiencing significant issues on Wednesday.
Over 13,000 reports of outages were reported to Down Detector around 9:45 AM ET, with the bulk of problems impacting customer check-out. The reports of outages fell sharply by 11AM ET, however, suggesting the issue was quickly remedied. 
âWeâre sorry that some customers may have temporarily experienced issues while shopping," an Amazon spokesperson told SeekingAlpha in an emailed statement. "We have resolved the issue, and everything is now running smoothly.â
Read more on Amazonâs Black Friday sales.