Amazon is in hot water over alleged monopolistic practices: US antitrust regulator the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 17 states are suing e-commerce giant Amazon for alleged monopolistic practices, the Associated Press (AP) reports. The allegations include that Amazon is overcharging sellers, inflating prices and stifling competition, according to the AP. Claimants are asking the court for a permanent injunction that would ban Amazon from practices that violate state and federal antitrust laws and ease “monopolistic control to restore competition,” according to statements carried by AP.

This is big: The lawsuit comes on the heels of a multi-year probe into Amazon’s practices and represents the most serious legal challenge faced by the outfit in its 30-year history, AP also said.

The response: “If the FTC gets its way, the result would be fewer products to choose from, higher prices, slower deliveries for consumers, and reduced options for small businesses — the opposite of what antitrust law is designed to do,” Amazon General Counsel David Zapolsky said in a prepared statement cited by the AP.

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