Amazon Is Sued By US Government And 17 States For Illegal Monopoly

The Federal Trade Commission and 17 US states sued Amazon, accusing the company of illegal practices that hurt other companies to maintain its monopoly.

"Amazon's ongoing pattern of illegal conduct prevents current competitors from growing and new competitors from emerging," the FTC said in a statement posted on its website. "By stifling competition on price, product selection, quality, and by preventing its current or future rivals from attracting a critical mass of shoppers and sellers, Amazon ensures that no current or future rival can threaten its dominance."

The FTC said the online retail company adopts actions that stop other companies from "lowering prices, degrade quality for shoppers, overcharge sellers, stifle innovation and prevent rivals from fairly competing against Amazon."

The complaint was filed at the US District Court for the Western District of Washington. Amazon is based in Seattle. The FTC and the 17 states are asking the court to permanently stop the unlawful conduct of the company.

Amazon, whose market value is around $1.3 billion, vowed to fight the allegations.

"If the FTC 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," David Zapolsky, Amazon Senior Vice President of Global Public Policy and General Counsel, said in a statement posted on the company's website. "The lawsuit filed by the FTC today is wrong on the fact and the law, and we look forward to making that case in court."

Amazon net sales in the second quarter rose 11% from a year earlier to $134.4 billion and profit was $6.7 billion, reversing a loss of $2 billion in the second quarter of 2022. The company expects higher net sales in the third quarter. Revenue will be between $138 billion and $143 billion, a growth of 9% to 13% from the same period in 2022, Amazon said on Aug. 3.