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The FTC and 17 states sue Amazon for alleged antitrust practices

The lawsuit marks the first antitrust charges against Amazon by the US government.

Donovan Erskine

September 26, 2023 10:26 AM

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Amazon is the latest mega-corporation to draw the attention of the FTC. Word had been spreading over the last couple of months that the FTC was working on and finalizing a lawsuit against Amazon over antitrust practices at the retail empire. The government organization has finally put those plans into place, filing its lawsuit against Amazon alongside 17 states.

The FTC announced its Amazon lawsuit in a press release today. The lawsuit alleges that Amazon “uses a set of interlocking anticompetitive and unfair strategies to illegally maintain its monopoly power.” It goes on to name a series of ways in which Amazon meticulously and deliberately stifles competition and worsens the user experience. The FTC says that Amazon’s antitrust practices primarily occur in two markets: online stores for shoppers and the marketplace service used by sellers.

“Our complaint lays out how Amazon has used a set of punitive and coercive tactics to unlawfully maintain its monopolies,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “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. Today’s lawsuit seeks to hold Amazon to account for these monopolistic practices and restore the lost promise of free and fair competition.”

It was back in July that we first caught wind of the FTC’s lawsuit against Amazon, a company that has long been under public scrutiny for the same issues raised in today’s filing. With several state governments on its side, it’ll be interesting to see if the FTC is able to force change at one of the world’s biggest companies.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_