Washington sues Amazon, accuses it of controlling online prices

Washington

THE District of Columbia sued Amazon on Tuesday, accusing it of artificially raising prices for products around the Web by abusing its monopoly power, a sign that regulators are increasingly turning their attention to the company's dominance across the economy.

In the lawsuit, believed to be the first government antitrust suit against Amazon in the United States, the district government said Amazon had effectively prohibited merchants that use its platform from charging lower prices for the same products elsewhere online. That, in turn, raised prices for those products not just on Amazon's website but in other marketplaces as well, it said.

"Amazon has used its dominant position in the online retail market to win at all costs," said Karl Racine, the attorney general for the District of Columbia.

Jodi Seth, a spokesperson for Amazon, said in a statement that the attorney general "has it exactly backwards - sellers set their own prices for the products they offer in our store."

The suit, filed in DC Superior Court, shows the early but growing interest in charges that Amazon's aggressive practices have squeezed small businesses, killed innovation and given it a monopoly over commerce in the digital age.

The attention is part of a broader pushback against the largest technology companies. Prosecutors have filed antitrust charges against Google and Facebook, and Apple is under intense scrutiny.

The Federal Trade Commission has been investigating whether Amazon violated antitrust laws, although its questions have yet to yield a legal complaint. Several states - including California, Washington and New York - have pursued inquiries of their own. And last year, Amazon was one focus of a sweeping House Judiciary Committee investigation into the power of the tech giants, with lawmakers weighing legislation that could restrict the company.

The suit from attorney general Racine was not joined by prosecutors in other states or US jurisdictions, meaning that he cannot draw on the resources of other attorneys general in court. In addition, any judgment or settlement would only apply to Washington, DC. Prosecutors asked the court to block Amazon from engaging in the practices that it argued increased prices. They also requested that the court "remove any ability of Amazon to harm competition," including by changing its structure. NYTIMES