California Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon for Stifling Competition with Pricing Rules

California has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that the company violated state competition law through its pricing rules.

Engadget reports that California has filed an antitrust lawsuit claiming that Amazon has violated both the Cartwright Act and state competition law through its pricing rules. Attorney General Rob Bonta has accused the e-commerce giant of stifling competition by preventing sellers from offering their items for lower prices on other sites.

If third-party sellers offer their items for cheaper prices on other platforms, they risk losing buy buttons, prominent listings, or even access to Amazon’s marketplace. If the lawsuit is successful, Amazon would be banned from taking part in any contracts that are deemed anti-competitive and must notify sellers that they are free to reduce prices on other platforms.

Amazon would also be forced to pay damages, return “ill-gotten gains,” and appoint a court-approved overseer. In a statement, Amazon said that the state of California had the situation “exactly backwards.” Amazon claims that third-party sellers still have control over prices and inclusion in the “Buy Box” space shows that a deal is competitive. Amazon further argued that the lawsuit would raise prices.

Amazon’s full statement on the latest antitrust lawsuit below:

“Similar to the D.C. Attorney General—whose complaint was dismissed by the courts—the California Attorney General has it exactly backwards. Sellers set their own prices for the products they offer in our store. Amazon takes pride in the fact that we offer low prices across the broadest selection, and like any store we reserve the right not to highlight offers to customers that are not priced competitively. The relief the AG seeks would force Amazon to feature higher prices to customers, oddly going against core objectives of antitrust law. We hope that the California court will reach the same conclusion as the D.C. court and dismiss this lawsuit promptly.”

Amazon has faced increased scrutiny over its practices in recent months. Breitbart News recently reported that over two dozen groups that are critical of Amazon’s anti-competitive and invasive surveillance practices have urged the FTC to block the company’s acquisition of iRobot. The coalition, including Fight for the Future, Electronic Frontier Foundation, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and Public Citizen, wrote to the FTC about the recent $1.7 billion cash deal to purchase iRobot.

Read more at Engadget here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan