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The Federal Trade Commission and 17 states sued Amazon Tuesday for allegedly violating antitrust laws.
The commission accuses Amazon of wielding monopoly power to inflate prices, degrade quality, and stifle competition. The shipping giant does this, the complainants allege, by punishing and exploiting their small-business owners.
Among the FTC’s arguments are that Amazon might make a seller’s products nearly invisible on the platform if they are caught offering lower-priced goods to another online competitor and that they force sellers to use Amazon’s costly fulfillment services to gain a Prime checkmark, which hinders their ability to sell outside of the website.
FTC Chair Lina Khan says the lawsuit seeks to “restore the lost promise of free and fair competition.”