I live in one of the areas affected by this bullshit. We have a landline because of a lack of cell service. Our internet is essentially dial up speeds. I can not apply for many healthcare WFH positions because sat/nazinet does not meet security requirements.

Amid all the corruption, this is especially gross: the billions Congress/Biden approved to build fiber internet in places left behind has been redirected to Elon Musk & Jeff Bezos for doing nothing. Musk has pocketed $738 million so far. Places like rural Louisiana were screwed.

Several state AGs are involved in this too. Amazon apparently set an undisclosed price floor for its sponsored product ad auctions — inducing sellers to raise their bids even though no one was actually bidding against them. Amazon's took $69B in ad revenue in 2025.

Amazon Faces Billions in Penalties From Potential FTC Ad Suit

Amazon.com Inc. is facing a possible lawsuit from the US Federal Trade Commission that may lead to billions of dollars in civil penalties, over claims the e-commerce giant misled advertisers, accordin...

bloomberg.com

The California legislature is poised to pass a strong antimonopoly law, giving the state new tools to spur competition, protect workers & small businesses, and bring down prices. But to do it, lawmakers will need to stand up to powerful lobbyists. Teri Olle of @economicsecurityproject.org:

California has an affordability crisis. Passing this bill to rein in Big Tech would help

OPINION: To help address rising costs, California should update its 119-year-old antitrust law and curb monopoly abuse by dominant firms, including Big Tech.

sfchronicle.com

We don't tend to think of Walmart and Home Depot stores as major polluters, but they are, via their parking lots. Shopping at local neighborhood stores has far less impact, both on air and water. www.latimes.com/environment/...

Polluted rain runoff from big box store parking lots could see a crackdown

California cities are paying high costs to clean up water pollution running off parking lots. Environmental groups say the state needs to hold businesses accountable.

latimes.com

EXCLUSIVE My big behind-the-scenes look into how Gov. Josh Shapiro has courted Amazon amid the mounting backlash to data centers Complete with internal emails, memos, an “exclusive” offer for help with faster permitting and a NDA no one would explain to me. My latest for @heatmap.news 😌

Inside Josh Shapiro’s Attempt to Navigate the Data Center Backlash

Emails between the Pennsylvania governor’s office and Amazon illustrate the difficulty of courting big business as anti-AI fervor explodes.

heatmap.news

Hey that's me on the Bigfoot Manifesto talking about the ideological and policy moves that created today's corporate empires — and how we can dismantle them.

The Bigfoot Manifesto: Fighting Back Against Corporate Empires

YouTube video by The Bigfoot Manifesto

youtu.be

There is, as they say, no bingo card I will ever see that would have "Jeff Bezos goes on TV to criticize 'corporate welfare" on it. The man is the human embodiment of tax avoidance, and the company he founded owes its dominance to successfully leveraging the tax system. www.cnbc.com/2026/05/20/c...

CNBC Exclusive: Transcript: Jeff Bezos Speaks with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on “Squawk Box” Today

cnbc.com

1. The data center boom isn’t a neutral response to public need. It’s a speculative race by Amazon, Google, Meta & Microsoft to consolidate control over AI and extend their monopoly power — while shifting huge costs onto the rest of us. Here's ILSR's guide to what we need to do.

The Policies Communities Need to Meet the AI Moment

Safeguarding community self-determination and well-being, tackling monopoly power, and building small-scale distributed alternatives are the keys to protecting communities during the data center boom.

ilsr.org

Live Nation lost its bid to build a big concert venue here in Portland, Maine last night! Before an overflow crowd, the City Council rejected the project. For more than a year residents have been campaigning to prevent this monopoly from destroying the local music scene. We won!

Amazon's coordinated price fixing—in which it enlists suppliers like Hanes and Skullcandy to act as go-betweens with other retailers—works alongside its powerful AI pricing technologies, which can unilaterally induce rivals' pricing algorithms to raise their prices. Here's how:

Stacy Mitchell@stacyfmitchell.bsky.social · 4mo ago

1. Amazon has built powerful pricing algorithms that have learned how to steer prices upward — not just on Amazon, but across the web. I have a new piece on how these algorithms work, and how they help sustain Amazon’s monopoly.

1. Boy, Amazon is in a heap of trouble. Evidence made public yesterday by California AG @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov shows blatant price fixing. And there are so many examples. Here's Amazon scheming with a pet food supplier to get Chewy to raise its prices.

"These allegations point to a novel form of monopoly power: the ability of a dominant platform to use algorithms to lift prices across an entire market. Amazon is doing so...by provoking and shaping the responses of rival algorithms, creating feedback loops that ratchet prices higher."

How Amazon’s AI Algorithms Raise the Prices You Pay

Amazon can steer market-wide prices without ever colluding—exposing a gap in antitrust law that the FTC is now fighting to close.

washingtonmonthly.com

Every consumer should read this thread. The antitrust investigation into Amazon, likely kneecapped by Team Trump, is more important than we think. Algorithmic price coercion is destroying small (and honest) businesses and robbing us of billions. #amazon #jeffbezos #business #prime #bezos #ftc #sec

Stacy Mitchell@stacyfmitchell.bsky.social · 4mo ago

1. Amazon has built powerful pricing algorithms that have learned how to steer prices upward — not just on Amazon, but across the web. I have a new piece on how these algorithms work, and how they help sustain Amazon’s monopoly.

Stacy Mitchell has the best command of this subject. She explains how Amazon's ability to match any discount absolutely shreds competitors trying to give you a lower price. To hide these powers from nosy reporters, Amazon shuts off the magic algorithm during holiday shopping season and Prime Day.

Stacy Mitchell@stacyfmitchell.bsky.social · 4mo ago

1. Amazon has built powerful pricing algorithms that have learned how to steer prices upward — not just on Amazon, but across the web. I have a new piece on how these algorithms work, and how they help sustain Amazon’s monopoly.

wild thread. There are no deals!!

Stacy Mitchell@stacyfmitchell.bsky.social · 4mo ago

1. Amazon has built powerful pricing algorithms that have learned how to steer prices upward — not just on Amazon, but across the web. I have a new piece on how these algorithms work, and how they help sustain Amazon’s monopoly.

1. Amazon has built powerful pricing algorithms that have learned how to steer prices upward — not just on Amazon, but across the web. I have a new piece on how these algorithms work, and how they help sustain Amazon’s monopoly.

How Amazon’s AI Algorithms Raise the Prices You Pay

Amazon can steer market-wide prices without ever colluding—exposing a gap in antitrust law that the FTC is now fighting to close.

washingtonmonthly.com

1. New evidence shows Amazon compelling specific sellers to hike their prices on other shopping sites. This is from depositions in the California antitrust case obtained by The Guardian. Expect a lot more to come out at trial. This drives prices up & is why Amazon has an iron grip.

City-owned broadband providers outperform their big ISP competitors on internet speeds, a new study finds.

1. It's great to see @warren.senate.gov pressing Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on the shady tactics Amazon is using to overcharge schools and cities for everyday supplies — including sham contracts with algorithmic-driven dynamic pricing.

Want to help your city and local schools stop buying from Amazon? Watch our recent webinar featuring people who successfully pushed their local governments to buy from local suppliers instead — plus practical tips for how to do it in your town. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIS3...

1. Tim Muris, who held top roles at the FTC in the 1970s-80s and 2000s, has teamed up with the Competitive Enterprise Institute on a new effort to discredit and bury the Robinson-Patman Act. Muris has a record of inventing history to support his agenda. Here are a few examples.

TODAY at 1:00 ET — join us to hear from leading thinkers on how powerful corporations are using pricing algorithms to fleece shoppers, and what cities, states, and the federal gov't can do about it.

Stacy Mitchell@stacyfmitchell.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Great event on March 3: How powerful corporations — including Amazon, Instacart, and major landlords — are using pricing algorithms to inflate prices and undermine competition. With Doha Mekki, Katie Wells, Ted Tatos, and moderator Geoffrey Fowler. Register here: ilsr.org/article/inde...

It took New Mexico Democrats all of 25 days to cobble together a law that makes broadband affordable for poor people

With ACP Gone, New Mexico Creates First State-Level Internet Affordability Program | Welcome to Community Networks

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law today new legislation that would provide tens of thousands of low-income households in “The Land of Enchantment” an Internet lifeline similar to ...

communitynets.org

Great event on March 3: How powerful corporations — including Amazon, Instacart, and major landlords — are using pricing algorithms to inflate prices and undermine competition. With Doha Mekki, Katie Wells, Ted Tatos, and moderator Geoffrey Fowler. Register here: ilsr.org/article/inde...

"Every time teachers post a classroom wish list on Amazon, they’re essentially voting against their next pay raise." Terrific — and very actionable — post from my colleague @kennedysmith.bsky.social

It's Time for Teachers to Break Up with Amazon

ILSR's guide to hosting and supporting teacher wish lists without using Amazon

ilsr.org

Today! At noon Eastern. Great speakers: Arizona State Senator Lauren Kuby (@senatorlaurenkuby.bsky.social), Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands Bookstore, Thomas Barr of Local First Arizona, and Kennedy Smith of @ilsr.bsky.social

Stacy Mitchell@stacyfmitchell.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Nearly every city and school district is pouring public dollars into Amazon — even though local suppliers are often cheaper and faster. A few cities have said no to Amazon’s sketchy contracts. This Friday: Learn how they broke free — and how your city can too. Register here:

One key reason to support local businesses? They'll have your back in a community crisis when large corporations stay silent. Some lessons from Minnesota from several of my very smart colleagues: vist.ly/4rdhr @ronmknox.bsky.social @stacyfmitchell.bsky.social

Small Business, Resistance and Resiliency: A Conversation with Stacy Mitchell and Lauren Gellatly

Faced with calls for a general strike and ICE terror, small businesses offer safety and community.

whoshallrule.com

Tomorrow!

Stacy Mitchell@stacyfmitchell.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Nearly every city and school district is pouring public dollars into Amazon — even though local suppliers are often cheaper and faster. A few cities have said no to Amazon’s sketchy contracts. This Friday: Learn how they broke free — and how your city can too. Register here:

Walmart is using its power over suppliers to push grocery prices up. This terrific explainer draws on newly unsealed details from an antitrust case—filed by Lina Khan and dropped by Trump—to show how. I’m proud that @ilsr.bsky.social helped get the case unsealed. And thrilled to help tell the story.

We Uncovered the Scheme Keeping Grocery Prices High

YouTube video by More Perfect Union

youtube.com