PA Attorney General Targets Online Price-Gouging

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro was part of a group of state attorneys general who called on Amazon, Facebook and other online retailers Wednesday to crack down on price gouging during the coronavirus outbreak.

Shapiro was one of four co-leading attorneys who, along with 29 other attorneys general, sent a letter to that effect to Amazon, Facebook, Ebay, Walmart and Craigslist.

"Ripping off consumers by jacking up prices in the middle of a public emergency is against the law and online resellers like Amazon must join in this fight," Shapiro said in the letter. "These companies form the backbone of online retail and have an obligation to stop illegal price gouging now and put strong practices into place to stop it from happening in the future."

The letter lists several examples of what the attorneys called price-gouging on the platforms. On Craigslist, a two-liter bottle of hand sanitizer was being sold for $250. On Facebook Marketplace, an eight-ounce bottle was listed at $40. And, on Ebay, packs of face masks were being sold for $40 and $50.

"Americans are already worried about their health and the health of their loved ones during this pandemic. They shouldn’t also have to worry about being ripped off on the critical supplies they need to get through it,” Adam Garber, U.S. PIRG Education Fund Consumer Watchdog, said in a news release. "We’re grateful for the leadership of Pennsylvania Attorney General Shapiro and 33 attorneys general who joined him in calling for more robust protections on these online marketplaces during this crisis."

The letter recommends several changes to protect consumers from price gouging:

• Online retail platforms should prevent unconscionable price increases from happening by creating and enforcing strong policies that prevent sellers from deviating in any significant way from the product's price before an emergency. Such policies should examine historical seller prices, and the price offered by other sellers of the same or similar products, to identify and eliminate price gouging.
• Trigger price gouging protections prior to an emergency declaration, such as when your systems detect conditions like pending weather events or future possible health risks.
• Implement a complaint portal for consumers to report potential price gouging.

"Online resellers have built advanced platforms and now it’s time to take that talent and help us beat COVID-19 by ensuring ready access to essential goods at fair prices," Shapiro said.