The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general filed a suit on Tuesday against Amazon, alleging the company is engaging in anticompetitive practices that have pushed other companies out of the marketplace.

The lawsuit has been expected due to FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan's focus on Amazon in her previous academic work and her aggressive approach to antitrust cases.

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"The complaint sets forth detailed allegations noting how Amazon is now exploiting its monopoly power to enrich itself while raising prices and degrading service for the tens of millions of American families who shop on its platform and the hundreds of thousands of businesses that rely on Amazon to reach them," Khan said in a press statement. "Today's lawsuit seeks to hold Amazon to account for these monopolistic practices and restore the lost promise of free and fair competition."

The chairwoman has brought a more aggressive approach to the agency's enforcement in general. Khan wrote a well-known 2017 paper, "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox," making the case for antitrust enforcement against the company. Amazon has asked that Khan be recused from all cases involving Amazon. The executives even went as far as to accuse the agency of 'harassing' company executives in an August 2022 filing.

The agency has previously sued Amazon over other practices. Amazon was sued in late June for using "dark patterns," or the presence of software designs that make unsubscribing from Amazon Prime significantly more challenging than it is to subscribe.

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The lawsuit arrives a week after Congress hosted a hearing for Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak, the two Republican nominees for the FTC. Both have a history of scrutinizing Big Tech companies and would bring a similar perspective to the agency.

This story is developing and will be updated.