The FTC is Suing Amazon for Maintaining an “Unlawful” Monopoly

The Federal Trade Commission, alongside 17 states from California to Wisconsin, is suing Amazon for allegedly maintaining an illegal monopoly in their online retail space.

They claim Amazon makes it impossible for other retailers to compete by doing things like placing ads within their search results and boosting their own products over third party listings, resulting in “artificially higher prices” for consumers.

The lawsuit says,

“A single company, Amazon, has seized control over much of the online retail economy. It exploits its monopolies in ways that enrich Amazon but harm its customers: both the tens of millions of American households who regularly shop on Amazon’s online superstore and the hundreds of thousands of businesses who rely on Amazon to reach them.”

FTC chair Lina Khan has stated that a successful case will mean “competition will be restored and people will benefit from lower prices, greater quality, greater selection as a result.” The meantime, the FTC has asked for an injunction to block Amazon from “unlawful conduct.”

Amazon’s counsel has stated that the FTC “is wrong on the facts and the law” and claims that “[i]f the F.T.C. gets its way, the result would be fewer products to choose from, higher prices, slower deliveries for consumers and reduced options for small businesses — the opposite of what antitrust law is designed to do.”