WASHINGTON -The office of the Washington, D.C. attorney general has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon.com, alleging that the company illegally requires third party sellers to give Amazon customers the same or better prices than the products are offered elsewhere, Attorney General Karl Racine said on Tuesday.

His office alleged that Amazon's requirements prevent third-party sellers from discounting the products on their own websites or elsewhere.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Amazon has used its dominant position in the online retail market to win at all costs. It maximizes its profits at the expense of third-party sellers and consumers, while harming competition, stifling innovation, and illegally tilting the playing field in its favor," Racine said in a statement.

The four big tech companies - Amazon.com, Facebook, Alphabet's Google and Apple - have spent more than a year under antitrust scrutiny.

The U.S. Justice Department sued Google late last year alleging violations of antitrust law, as did two groups of states as well. Facebook was sued by the Federal Trade Commission and a group of states.

  - Reuters