Legislation

California Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon

SEP 15 2022·Updated SEP 16 2022

Story

Image credit: forbes

The Facts

On Wed., Calif. Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a complaint against Amazon in San Francisco Superior Court accusing the retail giant of harming competition by forcing third-party sellers to commit to so-called 'price parity'.
CNN
According to Bonta, the company has long abused its dominant position to distort the market. This was allegedly done by inflating prices to consumers and penalizing merchants that offered goods at lower prices.
Vice
This antitrust lawsuit follows a two-year investigation of Amazon policies. It reportedly seeks the termination of anti-competitive practices and the designation of a monitor to ensure the company's compliance.
FOX News
Although limited to Calif., where Amazon has approximately 25M customers, this suit could have a nationwide impact if it's successful because other states could follow the state's lead.
nytimes
So far, attempts to tackle Amazon's alleged antitrust violations have yielded mixed results. A Seattle-based federal judge let a class-action suit move forward, but a Washington, D.C. federal court dismissed it.
Forbes
This comes as tech giants have been under antitrust scrutiny recently. The Federal Trade Commission is suing Meta, Google is facing state and federal suits in the U.S. while being fined in the EU, and the Dept. of Justice is reportedly preparing a case against Apple.
Forbes

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

The backlash against big tech companies is ratcheting up, and this lawsuit might have the teeth to do damage to Amazon. California has stricter laws about unfair competition and other anti-trust violating practices than the federal government. A victory in California could set the tone for other states to pass similar laws.

NBC

Establishment-critical narrative

This antitrust lawsuit against Amazon is part of a broader political campaign to punish tech giants for their success and to expand the power of government bureaucrats. Yes, the market isn't perfect, but it's not a coincidence that these companies have prospered while operating in a loosely regulated sector.

Orange County Register