Amazon hit with antitrust lawsuit alleging e-book price fixing

Amazon is accused of fixing the price of e-books sold on its site through anticompetitive agreements with the nation’s top five publishers, known as the “Big Five,” according to a complaint filed Thursday.

The lawsuit alleges Amazon and the publishers entered into price fixing agreements in 2015, allowing the publishers to increase their e-book prices by up to 30 percent while protecting Amazon from competition from other e-book retailers.

The lawsuit follows a similar case against Apple in 2011 that led to the tech giant settling for $400 million.