The state of California on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Amazon for using its market influence to prevent merchants from offering shoppers better deals on other sites, in violation of the state’s anti-monopoly law.
Amazon asks merchants not to offer their products at lower prices on other portals, which affects sellers and consumers, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in the lawsuit.
“Amazon coerces merchants into deals that keep prices artificially high, knowing full well they can’t say no,” Bonta said in a statement.
“Many products we buy online would be cheaper if market forces were free.”
The suit argues that Amazon is such a dominant e-commerce site that merchants feel they have little choice when it comes to agreeing to terms of sale.
Sellers who fail to meet these requirements may see their listings less prominently or even have their ability to sell items on Amazon suspended, according to the lawsuit.
Merchants said they can offer items at lower prices on their own websites and some other online commerce portals because they save on the fees Amazon charges, state attorneys argued.
Bonta asks a state court in San Francisco to order Amazon to end its minimum-price practice and pay an unspecified amount of damages.
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