California sues Amazon for preventing third-party sellers from offering cheaper prices elsewhere

Amazon is still inevitable third-party pricing lawsuits. The New York Times report California submitted An antitrust lawsuit alleges Amazon violated both the Cartwright Act and state competition law through its pricing rules. According to Attorney General Rob Bonta, the internet giant is stifling competition by preventing sellers from offering lower prices on other sites. If they challenge Amazon, they risk losing their buy buttons, featured listings, or even basic access to Amazon’s marketplace.

If successful, the lawsuit would ban any contracts deemed anticompetitive and notify sellers that they are free to lower prices elsewhere. Amazon will also have to pay damages, return “favorable harm” and appoint a court-approved supervisor.

In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson said California has a “completely opposite” situation. Third parties still have control over pricing, Amazon claims, and the inclusion of the “Buy Box” space is said to show that a deal is indeed competitive. It continues to assume that the suit will increase in price. You can read the full report below.

The case is similar to a case filed by the District of Columbia. The region’s high court dismissed that case in March citing a lack of evidence, but Justice Minister Karl Racine is appealing the decision.

Amazon is facing increasing government scrutiny of its operations. The Federal Trade Commission has been investigating issues from big buyback through the driver advice is retainedwhile EU pressure has boosted Amazon modify its merchant program and improve your chances of competing with third-party direct sales. This tech company balked at these moves and went the extra mile for both ask the president of the FTC to refuse as well as against agency requests to interview executives. In other words, don’t expect either side to back down anytime soon.

“Similar to the DC Attorney General — whose complaint was dismissed by the court — the California Attorney General is the exact opposite. Sellers set their own prices for the products they offer in our store. Amazon prides itself on the fact that we offer the lowest prices on the widest selection, and like any store, we reserve the right not to highlight offers to customers that are not competitively priced. The support sought by AG would force Amazon to charge higher prices to customers, which strangely goes against the core goals of antitrust law.We hope that the California courts will reach the same conclusion. D.C. court and dismissed this case immediately.”