California accuses Amazon of stifling competition in new major lawsuit

The 84-page lawsuit filed on Wednesday in San Francisco superior court mirrors another complaint filed last year by the District of Columbia, which was dismissed by a district judge earlier this year and is now going through an appeals process.

Among other things, the California lawsuit seeks to stop Amazon from entering into contracts with sellers that harm price competition. It also seeks a court order to compel Amazon to pay damages to the state for increased prices. State officials did not say how much money they are seeking.

Amazon has said in the past that sellers set their own prices on the platform. It has also said it has the right to avoid highlighting products that are not priced competitively.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been pushing bipartisan legislation aiming to limit Amazon and other big tech companies, including Apple, Meta and Google, from favoring their own products and services over rivals. The bill has cleared key committees but has languished in Congress for months amid intense pushback from the companies.