United States of America: Announced lawsuit by Washington AG into Amazon for allegedly employing deceptive and unfair business practices

On 7 December 2022, Attorney General (AG) Racine of the District of Columbia announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Amazon for allegedly deceiving its customers. The AG Racine alleges that Amazon deliberately misinformed its consumers by claiming that it is offering a tipping mechanism to drivers. In the lawsuit, it was claimed that the tips offered by consumers were not going directly to the drivers but were redirected to Amazon and used to support the reduction of labour costs. The lawsuit intends to obtain civil penalties for Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA) violations. The CPPA prohibits entities from employing deceptive and unfair business practices, such as misleading consumers, making misrepresentations and failing to disclose information regarding their services and products. Further, the AG aims to obtain a court order prohibiting Amazon from using the alleged deceiving tactics.