Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over Slower Prime Deliveries in Two D.C. ZIP Codes

D.C. Attorney General accuses Amazon of failing to disclose delivery changes in majority-Black neighborhoods, citing consumer protection violations.

The lawsuit alleges Amazon secretly excluded two predominantly Black, low-income ZIP codes in Washington, D.C., from its fastest Prime delivery service since mid-2022.
Residents in the affected areas, ZIP codes 20019 and 20020, experienced a drop in two-day delivery rates from 72% in 2021 to 24% in 2023, despite paying the full Prime membership fee.
Amazon cites driver safety concerns, including targeted crimes, as the reason for outsourcing deliveries in these neighborhoods to slower third-party services like UPS and USPS.
The lawsuit claims Amazon misled customers by not informing them of the delivery changes and deceptively attributing delays to general shipping issues.
D.C.'s Attorney General seeks restitution for affected customers, civil penalties, and an injunction to prevent further deceptive practices.