Current:Home > StocksCalifornia sues Amazon, alleging its policies cause higher prices everywhere -WealthPro Academy
California sues Amazon, alleging its policies cause higher prices everywhere
View
Date:2025-04-27 04:39:45
California sued Amazon on Wednesday, accusing the company of pushing sellers and suppliers into anticompetitive deals that lead to higher prices, including at rival online stores.
The lawsuit, filed by state Attorney General Rob Bonta, focuses on the way Amazon — the largest online retailer — deals with third-party merchants, who account for most of the sales on the platform.
California alleges that Amazon penalizes sellers and suppliers that offer cheaper prices elsewhere on the internet, including Walmart and Target, for example by displaying their items lower or less prominently or outright blocking their new postings.
"Amazon makes consumers think they are getting the lowest prices possible," the lawsuit alleges, "when in fact, they cannot get the low prices that would prevail in a freely competitive market because Amazon has coerced and induced its third-party sellers and wholesale suppliers to enter into anticompetitive agreements on price."
California's antitrust lawsuit is among the biggest legal challenges to Amazon in recent years, as lawmakers and regulators in the U.S. and abroad have investigated the retail giant for potential anticompetitive practices.
An Amazon spokesperson denied any antitrust violations, pointed out that a similar case in the District of Columbia was dismissed, and said the California Attorney General has it backwards.
"Sellers set their own prices for the products they offer in our store," the company said in a statement. "Like any store we reserve the right not to highlight offers to customers that are not priced competitively."
California also accuses Amazon of creating a "vicious anticompetitive cycle": Sellers view Amazon as a must; Amazon charges them higher fees to be able to sell on its platform; Sellers, in turn, raise their Amazon prices. And, even though it costs them less to sell on other websites, Amazon's policies push sellers to raise prices on those sites, too.
"Through its illegal actions, the, quote, "everything store" has effectively set a price floor, costing Californians more for just about everything," Bonta said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, a judge dismissed a similar lawsuit that was filed in Washington, D.C., though the city's attorney general has appealed.
In that case, Amazon argued its deals with merchants were meant to prevent shoppers from being overcharged, and punishing Amazon would hurt consumers.
Amazon has separately proposed a settlement with European antitrust regulators, who charged the company with violating competition laws. Their key allegations accused the company of using data it collected from third-party sellers to its own benefit.
Editor's note: Amazon is among NPR's recent financial supporters.
veryGood! (84)
Related
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- Mega Millions winning numbers for August 16 drawing: Jackpot climbs to $498 million
- Discarded gender and diversity books trigger a new culture clash at a Florida college
- Infant dies after being discovered 'unresponsive' in hot vehicle outside Mass. day care
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Alligators and swamp buggies: How a roadside attraction in Orlando staved off extinction
- Stranded Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams' Families Weigh in on Their Status
- New York's beloved bodega cats bring sense of calm to fast-paced city
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- General Hospital's Cameron Mathison Shares Insight Into Next Chapter After Breakup With Wife Vanessa
Ranking
- Man charged with murder in death of beloved Detroit-area neurosurgeon
- Election officials keep Green Party presidential candidate on Wisconsin ballot
- Jana Duggar, oldest Duggar daughter, marries Stephen Wissmann: 'Dream come true'
- Taylor Swift Shares How She Handles Sad or Bad Days Following Terror Plot
- Connie Chiume, South African 'Black Panther' actress, dies at 72
- Bridgerton Season 4: Actress Yerin Ha Cast as Benedict's Love Interest Sophie Beckett
- Latest search for 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre victims ends with 3 more found with gunshot wounds
- Heart disease is rampant in parts of the rural South. Researchers are hitting the road to learn why
Recommendation
Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
Car insurance rates could surge by 50% in 3 states: See where they're rising nationwide
Stranded Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams' Families Weigh in on Their Status
Greenidge Sues New York State Environmental Regulators, Seeking to Continue Operating Its Dresden Power Plant
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
USA flag football QB says NFL stars won't be handed 2028 Olympics spots: 'Disrespectful'
A Kansas high school football player dies from a medical emergency. It's the 3rd case this month.
Little League World Series: Updates, highlights from Saturday elimination games