Washington Post: The Technology 202: A new antitrust lawsuit raises the stakes for federal scrutiny of Amazon
A new D.C. antitrust lawsuit against Amazon escalates pressure on Washington to take on the e-commerce giant.
D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine yesterday brought a lawsuit against Amazon, which alleged its abusing what it argues is monopoly power leading to higher prices for consumers, as Rachel Lerman and I reported yesterday. Racine accused the company of fixing prices through the terms and agreements it has with third-party sellers. The suit alleges that Amazon prevents them from selling their products at lower prices on any other online platforms, leading to “artificially high” prices across the Internet. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
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However, most of Amazon’s critics don’t want to wait for a lengthy antitrust legal battle to see changes at the company.
Antitrust cases against well-resourced tech companies typically take years to conclude, and critics of the company’s competitive practices said Congress needs to act swiftly to address monopoly concerns at Amazon and other companies.
“This suit also comes as momentum to break the extraordinary and dangerous power of Big Tech reaches new heights,” said Sarah Miller, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project.