Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine announced Tuesday he's suing Amazon on antitrust grounds, alleging the company's practices have unfairly raised prices for consumers and suppressed innovation. The lawsuit, filed in D.C. Superior Court, alleges Amazon illegally maintained monopoly power by using contract provisions to prevent third-party sellers on its platform from offering their products for lower prices on other platforms. The AG claimed these agreements ultimately harm both consumers and third-party sellers by reducing competition, innovation and choice. Amazon requires third-party sellers who want to do business on the online marketplace to abide by its business solutions agreement. The relief the AG seeks would force Amazon to feature higher prices to customers, oddly going against core objectives of antitrust law."
