California sues Amazon over alleged anti-competitive pricing practices
HJBC

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a lawsuit against Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) on Wednesday, accusing the e-commerce giant of artificially inflating prices in the state.
The suit alleges that Amazon (AMZN) âstifled competition and caused increased prices across California,â violating Californiaâs Unfair Competition Law and Cartwright Act. Namely, it alleges the Seattle-based companyâs agreements with merchants âthwart the ability of other online retailers to competeâ and allow Amazon to unduly dominate the market.
âFor years, California consumers have paid more for their online purchases because of Amazon's anticompetitive contracting practices,â Bonta said. âAmazon coerces merchants into agreements that keep prices artificially high, knowing full well that they can't afford to say no. With other e-commerce platforms unable to compete on price, consumers turn to Amazon as a one-stop shop for all their purchases. This perpetuates Amazon's market dominance, allowing the company to make increasingly untenable demands on its merchants and costing consumers more at checkout across California.â
A copy of the full complaint is available here.
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