The government’s case to break up Amazon, explained

Published on Vox

The Federal Trade Commission thinks the Everything Store is an illegal monopoly, and it’s suing the company to stop it — which could mean breaking up the company. In its lawsuit filed on September 26, the antitrust agency, joined by 17 states, accuses Amazon of interlocking anti-competitive actions that, it says, have inflated prices for consumers, harmed third-party sellers in Amazon’s marketplace, and made it nearly impossible for other e-commerce platforms and retailers to compete. 

The complaint includes 20 charges, including monopoly maintenance of the online superstore market and the online marketplace services market, unfair methods of competition, and violations of various state antitrust laws.