DC’s antitrust suit against Amazon is back from the dead

An appeals court has revived the District of Columbia’s antitrust case against Amazon, which the District claims illegally drives up prices on rival platforms. In a decision on Thursday, the DC Court of Appeals ruled that the District’s allegations “plausibly suggest” that Amazon already has monopoly power over online marketplaces or is close to achieving it.

Former DC Attorney General Karl Racine filed the antitrust lawsuit against Amazon in 2021, but it was tossed out in court in 2022. The lawsuit alleges Amazon engages in anticompetitive behavior by restricting third-party sellers from offering products on other online stores, including their own websites, for less than they charge on Amazon — effectively controlling the price of goods outside of its own platform.

Though Amazon retracted a policy that required sellers to offer products at the lowest prices on its online marketplace in 2019, the lawsuit argues that Amazon’s Fair Pricing Policy amounts to “an effectively identical substitute.”

Amazon, unsurprisingly, doesn’t agree with the court’s decision to bring back the case. “Just like any store owner who wouldn’t want to promote a bad deal to their customers, we don’t highlight or promote offers that are not competitively priced,” Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle says in a statement to The Verge. “It’s part of our commitment to featuring low prices to earn and maintain customer trust, which we believe is the right decision for both consumers and sellers in the long run.”

Amazon is also facing antitrust scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission, which filed a massive lawsuit against Amazon over claims its monopoly power stifles competition and harms consumers.