In a newly unsealed court filing, California attorney general Rob Bonta alleged Amazon ran an illegal price-fixing scheme that prevented shoppers from finding lower prices elsewhere online.

The filing forms part of a lawsuit first brought in 2022 and now due to go to trial in January 2027.

According to the filing, Amazon allegedly contacted vendors selling on its platform and pushed them to get rival retailers to increase prices, rather than undercut Amazon. Bonta claimed those requests were backed by the threat of penalties including reduced promotion, financial demands and the removal of products from Amazon.

The filing includes examples involving major retail names including Walmart, Home Depot and Chewy, as well as brands such as Levi Strauss.

In one case cited by California, Amazon allegedly flagged lower-priced khaki trousers on Walmart’s site to Levi’s, after which Walmart’s price was raised and Amazon then moved its own pricing back up.

Bonta said the evidence showed Amazon had “strong-armed” vendors into raising prices elsewhere or pulling products from competing retailers altogether, arguing that the conduct made everyday goods more expensive for consumers.

He is asking the court to bar Amazon from discussing rival retailers’ prices with vendors and to appoint an independent monitor.

Amazon has denied wrongdoing and said the motion is a “transparent attempt to distract from the weakness of its case”. The company added that it is consistently recognised as a low-priced online retailer and said it would respond in court.

If upheld, the allegations would raise fresh questions over how dominant platforms influence pricing not just on their own sites, but across the wider ecommerce market.

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