California's attorney general has filed for a court order to halt Amazon's alleged practice of pressuring sellers to avoid offering lower prices on competing websites. The state claims Amazon threatens to cut off merchant access to key selling features if they don't comply with price demands.
California’s top prosecutor is asking a state court to immediately halt what officials describe as Amazon’s systematic effort to drive up consumer prices by intimidating sellers into avoiding cheaper pricing on rival platforms.
Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the request for a preliminary injunction on Tuesday as part of his ongoing antitrust case against the retail giant, which has been in litigation for three and a half years. The legal action also aims to recover profits allegedly obtained through illegal practices.
In court documents filed with the California Superior Court in San Francisco, Bonta outlined the state’s position: “Amazon’s goal is to insulate itself from price competition by preventing lower retail prices in the market. Amazon tells vendors what prices it wants to see to maintain its own profitability.”
According to the attorney general’s office, investigators have documented numerous instances where Amazon worked with competitors and merchants to coordinate pricing strategies designed to prevent the company from being undersold on platforms like eBay, Target, and Walmart.
The state alleges that Amazon and its rivals frequently collaborated through merchant intermediaries to either increase prices or temporarily remove products from availability, effectively eliminating the need for competitive price-matching policies.
Bonta’s filing claims that merchants who refused to comply with Amazon’s pricing demands faced severe consequences, including losing access to the platform’s crucial “Buy Box” feature. This tool, which allows customers to directly add items to their cart or make immediate purchases, generates the overwhelming majority of sales activity on Amazon’s marketplace.
“We welcome companies that succeed by offering better prices and better service,” Bonta stated. “What we have here is a greedy, behemoth corporation intentionally increasing prices in the marketplace to get richer and richer off the backs of consumers.”
If granted, the injunction would force Amazon to cease its alleged anti-competitive practices during the ongoing legal proceedings. Additionally, a court-appointed monitor would be assigned to ensure the company’s compliance with any restrictions.
Amazon has pushed back against the allegations, arguing in legal filings that its merchant agreements are “procompetitive,” legally sound, and standard practice within the industry. The company maintains these arrangements actually benefit shoppers by providing better product variety, proper inventory management, and competitive pricing.
The case is set to go to trial in January 2027.