FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Virgil McDill, vmcdill@ilsr.org, 202.294.9187
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 13, 2021) – The following statement was issued today by Stacy Mitchell, Co-Director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, in response to new amendments to an antitrust complaint filed against Amazon by D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine.
“The new elements in this suit detail how Amazon flexes its monopoly power over suppliers to inflate prices across the web and thereby ensure its continued dominance of the online market.
“These additions to the suit strengthen the case for the court to order a structural remedy, such as a break-up of the company. Much of Amazon’s ability to harm competition flows from the leverage it gains from playing multiple roles in the market. As this suit shows, both suppliers to its retail division and third-party sellers on its platform have little choice but to do Amazon’s bidding and raise their prices on other sites.
“These monopoly tactics have enabled Amazon to generate massive returns from its shopping platform, which it’s using to rapidly expand into logistics, healthcare, and more.”
About the Institute for Local Self-Reliance
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is a national nonprofit research and educational organization founded in 1974. ILSR has a vision of thriving, diverse, equitable communities. To reach this vision, we build local power to fight corporate control. We believe that democracy can only thrive when economic and political power is widely dispersed. Whether it’s fighting back against the outsize power of monopolies like Amazon or advocating to keep local renewable energy in the community that produced it, ILSR advocates for solutions that harness the power of citizens and communities. More at www.ilsr.org
