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Amazon is accused of fixing the price of e-books sold on the e-commerce site through anti-competitive deals with the country’s five major publishers, according to a complaint filed Thursday.
Class action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York City alleges Amazon and publishers entered into price-fixing deals in 2015, allowing publishers to raise the prices of their eBooks by up to $ 30. % while protecting Amazon from price competition from other e-book retailers.
The lawsuit also alleges that Amazon violated antitrust and consumer protection laws through agreements with publishers known as the “Big Five,” made up of Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin-Random House and Simon & Schuster. .
The lawsuit, brought by the Hagens Berman firm, follows a similar class action lawsuit the firm filed against Apple and the so-called Big Five in 2011. The case ended with Apple settling $ 400 million. dollars and publishers settling for millions more, the firm told me.
The regulation also kept the Big Five from interfering with retailer discounts for two years, resulting in lower and more competitive eBook pricing between 2013 and 2014, before Amazon’s alleged pricing deal. and publishers in 2015, according to the complaint.
“Amazon’s abuse of power proves, once again, that when it comes to violating antitrust laws, the new economy lives up to the same old tricks,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, in a statement.
Amazon and Macmillan spokespersons declined to comment. Spokesmen for the other publishing houses were not immediately available for comment.
The lawsuit was filed the same week, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong (D) said his office had an “active and ongoing antitrust investigation” on Amazon into “potentially anti-competitive terms in their distribution agreements. electronic books with certain publishers ”.
Connecticut was one of the states that had previously taken legal action against Apple for competition in e-book sales. The Department of Justice also sued Apple in 2012, alleging it conspired with major publishers over the pricing of eBooks.
The state-led investigation into Amazon’s e-book activity is one of many antitrust investigations the e-commerce giant is facing, including efforts by states and the federal government.
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